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. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 924 078 399 882 
 
INDIANA STATE SERIES 
 
 Second Reader 
 
 BY 
 
 ANNIE KLINGENSMITH , 
 
 SUPERVISOR OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS, FORT WAYNK 
 
 o>»i«> 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 INDIANA SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY 
 
CtoPYEiGHT, 1904, By EDWARD HAWKINS. 
 
 IND. Second b. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Red Riding Hood f, 5 
 
 The Brave Little Mother f. 8 
 
 The Little Red HeiN/ 9 
 
 Daisies 12 
 
 The Funny Little Cat 13 
 
 The Little Blue Egg *, 14 
 
 The Seven Goslings X» 16 
 
 The Spider and the Dove >< 20 
 
 What does Little Birdie say Tennyson 21 
 
 Mother HoUe ; 22 
 
 The Carrier Pigeon . ;/ .26 
 
 The City Mouse and the Country Mouse'^ 28 
 
 The Town Musicians-^ Cfrimm 30 
 
 Singing Robert Louis Stevenson 34 
 
 The First Thanksgiving 85 
 
 We Thank TJiee 88 
 
 Sweet Porridge Grimm 39 
 
 Hiawatha's Childhood U H. W. Longfellow 40 
 
 Hiawath^L . H. W. Longfellow 41 
 
 Hiawatha's Hunting .J H. W. Longfellow 42 
 
 Henry W. Longfellow .45 
 
 An Indian Story •* 47 
 
 The Goose that laid the Golden Eggs ^ 49 
 
 The Golden Touch K. Adapted from Hawthorne 51 
 
 Rock-a-bye Baby 57 
 
 The Brown Baby ....-• • . , 57 
 
 The Humming Bir A and the Butterfly 7; •'59 
 
 The Song of the Lark _ Adapted from Andersen 62 
 
 Christopher Columbus t. , , : 68 
 
 S 
 
4 CONTENTS 
 
 Santa Claus . Adapted from Eugene Field 70 
 
 The Flax -. ' Adapted from H, C. Andersen 73 
 
 The Discontented Pine Tree 77 
 
 The Star Money- y.-. Grimm 79 
 
 TheWomanand the Dog-^ 80 
 
 Bed in Summer R. L. Stevenson 82 
 
 A Far-off Land >^ ...... . .... 83 
 
 The Dove and her Children A 86 
 
 What Fred and his Father found in the Park^^ 88 
 
 What broke the China Pitcher K 91 
 
 The Shepherd Boy who killed the Giant . 95 
 
 The Snow Image . ' Adapted from HaiMorne 99 
 
 The Wise Fairy a Alice Gary 103 
 
 Abraham Lincohr.,. 105 
 
 The Lost Doll . Ji Adapted from G. Kingsley 109 
 
 Pandora ^. Adapted from Ilaicthorne 111 
 
 Beauty and the Beast T 116 
 
 Taming the Pig From " Sandford and Merlon " 123 
 
 Dandelion Down Lucy Larcom 126 
 
 Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star r 129 
 
 Brother Rabbit and Biother Goat l 130 
 
 The Land of Counterpane 4^ R. L. Stevenson 134 
 
 George Washington 135 
 
 To the Violet i , . Lucy Larcom 137 
 
 Pocahontas ^^"^ 138 
 
 The Frogs and the Ox I 141 
 
 Pussy Willow's Welcome 143 
 
 A Good Joke "T a. 144 
 
 Winter and Spring^ 146 
 
 Piccola -i» 150 
 
 Seven Times One Jean Ingelow 155 
 
 Notes 157 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 RED RIDING HOOD 
 
 be -eaw^e chat tered hunt er while 
 
 ar YOiv plea^ ant ly shout eel knocked 
 
 Once there was a little girl called Red Riding Hood. 
 
 She was called Red Riding Hood because she had 
 a pretty little red hood. 
 
 One day Red Riding Hood was playing in the 
 garden. Her mother called: "Come here, Red Rid- 
 ing Hood. I want you to go to your grandmother's. 
 
 "Take this butter and these cakes to her. She is 
 ill in bed, and she will want something good to eat. 
 
 "Don't play on the way. Stay with your grand- 
 mother a little while, but come home before dark." 
 
 Little Red Riding Hood put on her red hood, and 
 off she went. 
 
 The sun was shining. The wind was blowing 
 softly. The birds were singing in the trees. 
 
 Little Red Riding Hood stopped sometimes to 
 pick a flower, but she ran to make up the time. 
 
 A bluebird saw her coming, and sang a song for 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 her. A squirrel chattered at her from a tree. A 
 rabbit sat up and looked at her. 
 
 The little girl called pleasantly to them, but she 
 did not stop to play with them. 
 
 In the woods little Red Riding Hood met a wolf. 
 She had never seen a wolf, and so she thought this 
 one was a big dog. 
 
 The wolf said : " Good morning, 
 little Red Riding Hood. How are 
 you this pleasant morning?" 
 
 "I am very well, I thank you," 
 said little Red Riding Hood. 
 
 "And where are you going, my 
 dear?" said the wolf. 
 
 "I am going to see my grand- 
 mother. She lives on the other 
 side of the woods. She is ill in 
 bed, and I am taking her some 
 cakes and butter." 
 
 The wolf walked beside the little girl all this 
 time. 
 
 "I know where your grandmother lives," said the 
 wolf. "It is in a little red house. 
 
 "Let us run a race and see who will get there 
 first. I will go the long way through the woods and 
 you may go this way." 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 Off ran little Red Riding Hood, and off ran the 
 wolf. 
 
 The wolf could run very fast; so he got to the 
 grandmother's house long before the little girl did. 
 
 He knocked softly on the door, and the grand- 
 mother called, "Who is there?" 
 
 "Little Red Riding Hood," said the wolf, softly. 
 
 "Come in," said the grandmother. 
 
 The wolf went in and jumped on the bed to eat 
 the grandmother. But the grandmother jumped out 
 of bed on the other side, climbed out of the window, 
 and ran away. 
 
 She dropped her cap and spectacles on the floor. 
 The wolf put them on and covered himself up in 
 bed. 
 
 In a little Avhile little Red Riding Hood knocked 
 at the door. 
 
 "Who is there? " said the wolf, softly. 
 
 " Little Red Riding Hood," said the little girl. 
 
 " Come in," said the wolf. 
 
 Little Red Riding Hood went in, and said : — 
 
 " Mamma sent me with some cakes and butter for 
 you." 
 
 "Put them on the table," said the wolf. "Then 
 come and sit beside the bed." 
 
 Little Red Riding Hood did as she was told. ' ' 
 
8 SECOND EBADEB 
 
 She looked at the wolf a long time without saying 
 a word. Then she said : — 
 
 " What long arms you have, grandmother ! " 
 
 " The better to hug you, my dear." 
 
 " But what big eyes you have, grandmother ! " 
 
 "The better to see you, my dear." 
 
 "But, grandmother, w^hat big teeth you have! " 
 
 " The better to eat you up ! " shouted the wolf, 
 jumping out of bed. 
 
 Just then the grandmother and a hunter came run- 
 ning in. 
 
 The hunter shot the wolf dead with an arrow. 
 
 Red Riding Hood went home to her mother, and 
 the grandmother had a rug made of the wolf's hide. 
 
 THE BRAVE LITTLE MOTHER 
 
 motii er sto'ry inght ened 
 
 Here is a story a little girl's father told her. 
 
 One day when I was a little boy I saw a mouse. 
 I tried to catch it, but it ran very fast to get away. 
 
 At last it ran under an old box. I took the box 
 up, and the mouse ran out. 
 
 I let it go, for what do you think I saw 1 There 
 was a little nest made of hay under the box. 
 
SECOND EEADEE 9 
 
 In the nest was a little mother mouse. Five baby 
 mice lay beside her fast asleep. 
 
 The little mother 
 mouse did not try to 
 get away. She looked 
 at me as if to say, 
 " I am very much 
 frightened, but 1 
 must stay with my 
 babies." 
 
 I did not hurt 
 them. I wanted to 
 stay and look at 
 them, but I did not 
 want to frighten the 
 poor little mother; so I put the box down and went 
 away. 
 
 be hind 
 
 diz zj 
 
 THE LITTLE RED HEN 
 
 s8f t ly 
 scis sors 
 
 splash 
 pocket 
 
 ■crept 
 shelf 
 
 Once there was a little red hen and she lived in a 
 little red house in the woods. 
 
 She had a little table and a little stove and some 
 little dishes. 
 
10 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 She had a little teakettle, too, and a little teapot. 
 A fox lived over the hill with his mother. He 
 wanted to get the little red hen for dinner. 
 ^1' When the little red hen went out, she never went 
 far from the house. If the fox came, she could run 
 
 in. When she was in 
 the house, she kept the 
 door locked. 
 
 One day she went 
 out to get some sticks 
 to make a fire. She 
 looked all around, but 
 she did not see the fox. 
 He was hiding be- 
 hind a tree. When her 
 back was turned, he 
 crept softly into the 
 house. He hid under 
 the bed and waited. 
 The little red hen came in with the sticks and put 
 them behind the stove. Then she locked the door 
 and hung up the key. 
 
 Out jumped the fox, but he did not get the little 
 red hen. 
 
 She flew up to a shelf. Then the fox ran round 
 and round after his tail. 
 
SECOND READER 11 
 
 The little red hen looked at him till she grew 
 dizzy and fell down. 
 
 The fox put her into his bag and away he went. 
 
 He ran so fast that it made him tired, so he lay 
 down to rest. 
 
 Before he knew it he was asleep. 
 
 The little red hen had a pair of scissors in her 
 pocket. She took them out and cut a hole in the 
 bag. 
 
 Then she crept out softly and put a big stone 
 in where she had been. 
 
 When this was done, she ran home as fast as her 
 feet would take her. 
 
 When the fox woke up he said, " I have been 
 asleep. I must hurry or I shall be late for dinner." 
 
 So off he went. The stone hurt his back, but he 
 did not care. He was thinking, "What a good dinner 
 I shall have." 
 
 His mother was watching at the door for him. 
 Soon she saw him comiug with the bag on his back. 
 
 " Have you the little red hen this time, my son? " 
 said she. 
 
 " Yes, mother," said the fox. " Have you the 
 kettle on ? " 
 
 "Yes, my son," said the mother. 
 
 "Take off the cover, then, and I will put her in." 
 
12 SECOND READER 
 
 So the mother took off the cover, and the fox held 
 the bag over the kettle. 
 
 Splash went the big stone into the water, and 
 splash went the hot water into their faces and burned 
 them both. 
 
 But the little red hen was safe at home in her 
 little red house, drinking tea. 
 
 DAKIES 
 
 Atjevening when I go to bed 
 I see the stars shine overhead ; 
 They are the little daisies white 
 That dot the meadows of the night. 
 
 And often while I'm dreaming so, 
 Across the sky the moon will go ; 
 It is a lady, sweet and fair, 
 Who comes to gather daisies there. 
 
 For when at morning I arise. 
 
 There's not a star left in the skies; 
 
 She's picked them all, amixlropped tliem_d own 
 
 Into thelm eado w g_ oj the town. '~' 
 
 — From "Little Folks' Li/rir.'i," by Frank Dempster Sherman, 
 with permission from Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 bot torn 
 
 There was once a little white cat with black spots, 
 and her name was Schnitz. 
 
 In the house where she lived there were two gold- 
 fish. They lived in a little glass bowl. Kitty wanted 
 to eat them. 
 
 She would climb up and sit beside the bowl and 
 Avatch the fish. She often dipped her little soft 
 white paws into the water. 
 
 But the fish would go to the bottom of the bowl, 
 and Kitty didn't like to touch the water. So she 
 couldn't dip her paws in very far. 
 
 One day she found an empty rose bowl. It looked 
 very much like the fish bowl. 
 
 She put her paw into it and felt all around on the 
 bottom. Then she held her paw up like a little hand, 
 and looked at it as if she thought she would have a 
 fish. 
 
 She tried it again and again, and looked at her paw 
 every time. 
 
 Another day she dipped her paw as far as she 
 could into the fish bowl. She shook it very hard and 
 tried over and over. 
 
14 SECOND READER 
 
 Then she began to drink the water as fast as she 
 could. It seemed as if she thought she could drink 
 it all and get the fish. 
 
 THE LITTLE BLUE EGG 
 
 beau ti ful near ly choke pars nip 
 
 gard en er naugh'ty min er hur ried 
 
 Once there was a little white duck, and she lived 
 in a little green pond. One day she laid a little blue 
 egg. It was the very first egg she had ever laid. She 
 thought it was the most beautiful egg in the world. 
 
 She stayed at home nearly all day to look at it. 
 But by and by she grew very hungry. So she went 
 away to find some food. 
 
 While she was away, a big, brown water rat came 
 and took the little blue egg to his house. 
 
 The little white duck hurried home. She wanted 
 to look at her beautiful blue egg again. But it was 
 gone. 
 
 She quacked and cried, and cried and quacked till 
 tears pattered down like rain. 
 
 The naughty water rat heard her, but he did not 
 come out of his hole for a long time. At last he looked 
 out and said, " I have your beautiful blue egg." 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 15 
 
 The little white duck came, flying and swimming 
 both at once. " Oh, please give me my beautiful blue 
 egg," she begged. " I will do anything you ask." 
 
 " Bring me a parsnip, then," said the water rat. 
 " I like parsnips much better." 
 
 So oflt" she went to 
 the gardener. "Oh, Mr. 
 Gardener, please give 
 me a parsnip. I will 
 give the water rat a 
 parsnip and he will give 
 me my beautiful little 
 blue egg." 
 
 But the gardener 
 
 said, "You must first 
 
 give me a spade. Then 
 
 -I can dig the parsnip 
 
 for you." 
 
 So off she went to the 
 blacksmith shop. " Oh, please make me a spade, and 
 I will give the spade to the gardener, and the gardener 
 will give me a parsnip, and I will give the water rat a 
 parsnip, and the water rat will give me my beautiful 
 
 little blue egg." 
 
 But the blacksmith said, " Give me some iron and 
 
 I will make a spade for you. 
 
16 SECOND EEADEB 
 
 So off she went to the miner, and said, " Oh, Mr. 
 Miner, please give me some iron, and I will give the 
 iron to the blacksmith, and the blacksmith will give 
 me a spade, and I will give the spade to the gardener, 
 and the gardener will give me a parsnip, and I will 
 give the parsnip to the water rat, and the water rat 
 will give me my beautiful little blue egg." 
 
 So the miner gave her some iron. She took the 
 iron to the blacksmith, and the blacksmith gave her a 
 spade. She took the spade to the gardener, and the 
 gardener gave her a parsnip. She took the parsnip to 
 the water rat, and the water rat gave her the beautiful 
 little blue egg. 
 
 And the little white duck hatched a little yellow 
 duckling out of the little blue egg, and they lived 
 together in the little green pond and were happy for- 
 ever after. 
 
 THE SEVEN GOSLINGS 
 
 gog'lmgs bar'rel ioVloived ho«rse 
 
 an'si^ered pil'lows re'al ly key 
 
 Once there was a goose that had seven children. 
 
 One day she had to go to get some food for them. 
 She called them to her and said : "Be sure to keep the 
 door locked while I am gone. If the wolf gets in, he 
 
SECOND READER 17 
 
 will eat you. You will know him by his hoarse voice 
 and black paws." 
 
 The goslings said, " We will be very careful. Do 
 not be afraid, mother." 
 
 So the old goose went away with a light heart. 
 
 Soon some one knocked at the door. " Who is it ? " 
 cried the goslings. 
 
 " Your mother, dears. I have brought something 
 nice for each one of you. Open the door quickly." 
 
 But the goslings knew it was the wolf by the 
 hoarse voice. 
 
 " We will not open the door," they cried. " Our 
 mother has a sweet voice. Yours is hoarse. You 
 must be the wolf." 
 
 Off went the wolf and bought a big piece of butter 
 and ate it to make his voice soft. 
 
 Then he went back and knocked. " Open the 
 door, dears. Your mother is here. She has brought 
 each of you something nice." 
 
 But the wolf showed his black paw at the keyhole. 
 
 So the goslings said, "You are the wolf. Our 
 mother has not black paws." 
 
 Then the wolf ran to the baker. " Rub dough on 
 my paws and be quick about it," he said. 
 
 The baker was afraid ; so he did what the wolf told 
 him to do. 
 
 IND. SECOND READER 2 
 
18 
 
 SECOND EEADER 
 
 Then the wolf ran to the miller. "Put flour on 
 my paws and be quick about it," he said. 
 
 The miller was afraid ; so he did what the wolf told 
 him to do. 
 
 Away the wolf ran and put his paws up to the 
 keyhole. 
 
 " Here I am, my dear children. Open the door for 
 mother. I have something nice for each of you." 
 
 The goslings saw the white paws and heard the 
 sweet voice ; so they opened the door. 
 
 The first ran under the table. The second got into 
 bed. The third hid in the stove. The fourth jumped 
 
SECOND EEADER 19 
 
 into the flour barrel. The fifth flew into the cupboard. 
 The sixth crept under the sink. The seventh hid in 
 the clock. 
 
 The wolf soon found all but the one in the clock. 
 He put them into his bag and went away through the 
 woods, singing. 
 
 Soon the mother goose came home. What a sight 
 she saw. The door was wide open. The tables and 
 chairs were upside down. Dishes w^ere broken. The 
 pillows were on the floor. 
 
 The poor mother ran up and down. She called 
 her children by name. No one answered. She sat 
 down and sobbed and cried. 
 
 The gosling in the clock had heard her calling, but 
 he was afraid it was the wolf again. 
 
 When she began to cry, he peeped out with one 
 eye. Then he called, " Here I am, mother, in the 
 clock." 
 
 She helped him out, and heard what the wolf had 
 done. Then they went out and followed the wolf to 
 his den. 
 
 The wolf had shut the goslings up and gone away. 
 The one little gosling and his mother watched a long 
 time to be sure he was really gone. 
 
 Then they crept up softly and let the sLs goslings 
 out. Away they all ran home. 
 
20 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 As soon as they were in the house and had the 
 door locked, the mother goose kissed them every one. 
 
 Some of the goslings put the house to rights, and 
 the others cooked the dinner. 
 
 The mother goose did nothing but look at the 
 goslings. She was so glad that they were all safe. 
 
 THE SPIDER AND THE DOVE 
 
 €rea'tures de^'ert rob'bers qm'etly 
 
 There was once a good man Avho was kind to all 
 creatures. No living thing was afraid of him. 
 
 Once he was riding across 
 the desert alone. Some rob- 
 bers followed him to kill him 
 and get his gold. 
 
 The good man found a cave 
 in the rocks and went into it. 
 A spider was spinning her 
 web across the door, but he 
 was careful not to break her 
 threads. 
 
 A dove sat upon her eggs 
 just inside, but he took time to step over her. 
 
 The spider went on with the web. The dove sat 
 quietly on her eggs. Her mate cooed beside her. 
 
SECOND READER 21 
 
 Soon the robbers came to the cave. 
 
 " He must be in this cave," said one. 
 
 " No," said another, " see the spider's web. Not 
 a thread is broken. Look at tlie dove. See how 
 quietly she sits on her nest. No one has gone into 
 the cave to-day." 
 
 The robbers rode away and the man's life was saved. 
 
 WHAT DOES LITTLE BIRDIE SAY? 
 
 What does little birdie say 
 In her nest at peep of day? 
 Let me fly, says little birdie, 
 Mother, let me fly away. 
 Birdie, rest a little longer, 
 Till the little wings are stronger. 
 
 So she rests a little longer, 
 
 Then she flies away. 
 
 What does little baby say 
 In her bed at peep of day ? 
 Baby says, like little birdie, 
 Let me rise and fly away. 
 Baby, sleep a little longer, 
 Till the little limbs are stronger. 
 
 If she sleeps a little longer. 
 
 Baby too shall fly away. —tenntson. 
 
22 SECOND EEADEE 
 
 MOTHER HOLLE 
 
 er'rands jew'els ov'en show'er 
 
 Once there were two girls who were sisters. 
 
 One of them was very kind. She often did 
 errands for people. She was ready to take care of 
 the baby or to feed the chickens whenever her mother 
 needed her. 
 
 The other sister never did anything for nothing. 
 People always had to give her candy to get her to do 
 an errand. Even her mother had to pay her for 
 working. 
 
 One day the good girl went to the well for water. 
 She tried to see how deep the water was and fell in. 
 The water was not deep, so she was not drowned. 
 
 She looked about for a way to get out, and saw a 
 door. 
 
 She opened the door and went through. On the 
 other side there was a beautiful green meadow. 
 
 Flowers bloomed and birds sang everywhere. The 
 girl had never seen such butterflies and grasshoppers. 
 They had eyes like jewels and wings of gold. 
 
 There was an old, old fence around the meadow. 
 It was so old that it had a long, gray beard of moss. 
 
 The girl put up her foot to climb over. " Please 
 
SECOKD READER 23 
 
 be very careful how you step on me," said the fence. 
 " I am very old. Do not hurt a poor old fence." 
 
 So the girl stepped over with great care. Then 
 she stopped and put up a board that had fallen off. 
 The old fence thanked her and she went on her way. 
 
 Soon she came to an oven. The bread inside cried 
 out, "Take me out, take me out! I'm baked ! I'm 
 baked! Take me out quickly! I want to be eaten! 
 Eat all you want, but put the rest back in the oven ! " 
 
 So the girl took the bread out. She ate as much 
 as she wanted. Then she put what was left back. 
 
 Next she came to an apple tree. All the apples 
 cried out, " Shake us off, shake us off! We are ripe ! 
 We want to be eaten ! Eat all you want, but gather 
 the rest up into a heap ! " So she did what the apples 
 told her to do. 
 
 After this she came to a pretty little house. An 
 old woman sat inside the door. 
 
 This was Mother Holle, who sends the snow, but 
 the girl did not know it. 
 
 " Come in, come in ! " she said. " I want a girl to 
 make my bed." 
 
 So she went in and made the bed just as the old 
 lady wanted it. It was a feather bed, and it had to 
 be beaten up light. 
 
 The girl beat it until the feathers flew all about. 
 
24 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 This she did every day for a long time. At last the 
 old lady said, " You will be homesick ! I must send 
 you home ! You are a good girl ! " 
 
 The girl never thought of getting anything for her 
 work. So she said good-by and started. 
 
 Just as she stepped out of the door a shower of 
 gold fell upon her. It stuck to her hair and clothes. 
 Her pockets were filled. 
 
 When she reached home her mother was very glad 
 to see her again. Her sister was so much pleased 
 
SECOND READER 25 
 
 with the gold that she thought she would go down 
 into the well too. So she went and jumped in. She 
 saw the door and went through it. She saw the 
 meadow just as her sister had seen it. 
 
 She came to the old fence and began to climh over 
 it. "Oh, please be very careful. I am a poor, old 
 fence. If you throw me down, I can never get up. 
 You would not hurt a poor old fence." 
 
 But the unkind girl jumped on the old fence and 
 broke its back. Then she went on laughing. 
 
 She soon came to the oven. The bread called out 
 to her just as it had done to her sister. 
 
 But she ate as much as she wanted and Avalked 
 over what was left. Then she went on her way and 
 left the oven door wide open. 
 
 Next she came to the apple tree. She ate as many 
 apples as she wanted. Then she threw the rest as far 
 away as she could. 
 
 When she came to the little house, the old lady 
 called her in and showed her how to make the bed. 
 
 She did as she was told because she wanted the 
 gold, but, after a few days, she began to get tired. 
 She didn't beat the bed well. The feathers never flew 
 out in a cloud. 
 
 At last the old lady said, " You may go home 
 now." The girl walked slowly out of the door. She 
 
26 SECOND READER 
 
 wanted to get all the gold that fell. But instead of a 
 shower of gold, there was a shower of muddy water. 
 
 When she reached home even the chickens laughed. 
 The rooster called: — 
 
 " Cock-a-doodle-do, 
 Our muddy girl has come home too." 
 
 THE CARRIER PIGEON 
 
 pig'^on aunt storm 
 
 One day Willie's father brought him a carrier 
 pigeon. It was a pretty gray pigeon and Willie 
 was very fond of it. 
 
 Sometimes Willie went to see his aunt. He 
 always took the pigeon with him, so that he could 
 send a letter to his mother. 
 
 One day Willie wrote a letter, and tied it to the 
 pigeon's neck. Then he kissed the pigeon and let 
 it go. Up, up it flew, far out of sight. 
 
 Just then his aunt came in and said, " Don't let 
 your pigeon out to-day, Willie. There is a storm 
 coming." 
 
 "It is gone," said Willie, and he ran to the win- 
 dow to look out. 
 
 Poor little boy, he was very unhappy. He sat by 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 27 
 
 the window all day, watching the storm and wishing 
 he had not let the pigeon go. 
 
 The next morning Willie went home. He could 
 
 not be happy till he knew that his pigeon was 
 safe. 
 
 But the pigeon was not at home. All that day 
 Willie sat by the window watching the sky. 
 
28 SECOND READER 
 
 How he wished he had known there was a storm 
 coming. 
 
 When it was almost dark, Willie went outside 
 to watch. At last he saw a bird far up in the sky, 
 and it was coming nearer. 
 
 " Oh, Mamma, Mamma," cried Willie, "my pigeon 
 is coming, my pigeon is coming." 
 
 Willie's mother came running to the door. It 
 made her happy to see Willie so happy, and she was 
 very glad to see the pigeon safe. 
 
 Willie soon had the poor, tired little bird in his 
 arms. He fed it and gave it water, and his mother 
 let it stay in his room that night. 
 
 Willie had learned something that he didn't know 
 before. He never let his pigeon out again when 
 a storm was coming. 
 
 THE CITY MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE 
 
 vig'it -eol'lar troii'sers an o-el 
 
 pat'ent rath'er , bare'foot ex-euse' 
 
 The city mouse went to visit the country mouse. 
 The city mouse wore a high collar, a silk hat, 
 patent leather shoes, and a beautiful, light suit. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 29 
 
 The country mouse went barefoot and had only a 
 pair of trousers with one suspender. 
 
 The country mouse was glad to see the city mouse. 
 He brought in an ear of corn and an apple for dinner. 
 Now the city mouse 
 
 was used to having 
 
 angel cake, ice cream, 
 plum pudding, and 
 many other nice things; 
 so he ate very little. 
 
 The country mouse 
 asked why he did not 
 eat. 
 
 The city mouse said, 
 " Excuse me, but if you will come and live with me in 
 the city, you will soon know. There you can get the 
 very best food." 
 
 The country mouse was much pleased to go to the 
 city, and they went that very day. 
 
30 SECOND READER 
 
 The country mouse saw all the sights, and then 
 he went home to dinner with the city mouse. 
 
 The city mouse showed the country mouse a large 
 mince pie. Just as they began to eat, a cat came 
 jumping at them. 
 
 They both ran into a hole in a hurry. The coun- 
 try mouse couldn't get his breath for ten minutes. 
 By and by they crept out and looked about. But the 
 cook threw a stick of wood at them, and took the pie 
 away. 
 
 The next thing they tried was a piece of cheese. 
 But they saw just in time that it was in a trap. 
 
 The country mouse went home without anything 
 to eat. He thought he would rather eat poor food 
 than be frightened so much. 
 
 THE TOWN MUSICIANS 
 
 don'key to-mor'row earned th/eves 
 
 €ru'el be longed' sprang drown 
 
 There was once a poor donkey who was too old 
 to work. 
 
 His cruel master forgot that the donkey had 
 worked for him many years. He forgot that the don- 
 key had earned niucli more than it cost to keep him. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 31 
 
 :^- 
 
 So this cruel man turned the donkey out to starve. 
 The donkey thought he would go to Bremen and 
 be a town musician. As he went along the road he 
 saw a dog run- 
 ning very fast. 
 
 " Where are 
 you going, my 
 friend ? " said 
 the donkey. 
 
 "I am run- 
 ning away from 
 my master," 
 said the dog. 
 " He is going to kill me. I am too old for a 
 watch dog. My master forgets that I have always 
 
 kept thieves away. I want 
 nothing but bones that he can- 
 not eat, but he will not let me 
 live." 
 
 " Come with me," said the 
 donkey. " I am going to Bre- 
 men to be a town musician." 
 
 The poor dog was very glad 
 to go. 
 
 A little farther on they saw a cat that looked very 
 ^«e. \ 
 
32 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 " What is wrong with you ? " 
 said the donkey. 
 
 " I am old and have lost 
 my teeth," said the cat. 
 
 " My master forgets that 
 I have saved him many a 
 penny by killing the mice. 
 Now he is going to drown 
 me." 
 
 " Come with us," said the 
 donkey, " and be a town musician." 
 So the cat went with them. 
 A little farther on 
 they saw a rooster. 
 He was crowing as loud 
 as he could. 
 
 "Why do you crow 
 so loud?" said the 
 donkey. 
 
 " This is the last 
 night I shall ever 
 crow," said the rooster. 
 "My master told the 
 maid to cook me for din- 
 ner to-morrow. So I am 
 crowing while I can." ■"'' /tieSi. 
 
SECOND READER 38 
 
 " Do not wait to be eaten. Come with us and be 
 a town musician." 
 
 So the rooster went with them. 
 
 They went a long Avay. It began to grow dark 
 and they were all very hungry. At last they saw a 
 light and follow^ed it till they came to a little house. 
 
 Now this house belonged to a band of robbers, and 
 the robbers were just sitting down to supper. 
 
 The dog stood on the donkey's back. The cat 
 stood on the dog's back. The rooster stood on the 
 cat's back. In this way the rooster could see in at 
 the window and tell the others what was going on. 
 
 "Let us sing for them," said the town musicians. 
 " Then they will give us some food." 
 
 The donkey counted, " One, two, three," and they 
 all sang. 
 
 Such a noise had never been heard. The robbers 
 jumped up and ran out of the house. They did not 
 stop running till they were in the woods. 
 
 The town musicians waited a long time for the 
 robbers to come back. Then they went in and ate 
 the supper. 
 
 After supper the donkey went out and lay down 
 by the barn to sleep. The rooster flew up into a tree. 
 The dog lay by the door. The cat stayed by the 
 ' ^-ce. 
 
 ^- IND. SECOND READER d 
 
34 SECOND READER 
 
 Late at night one of the robbers crept back into 
 the house and the cat sprang into his face and 
 scratched him. 
 
 As he ran out the dog bit his leg. The donkey 
 kicked him. The rooster crowed. 
 
 The man ran to the other robbers and said, " We 
 must never go back there. A witch with eyes like 
 lire scratched me. A man with a' big knife stabbed 
 me. A policeman beat me with his club. A man in 
 a tree called, ' Stop thief.' " 
 
 The robbers were afraid to go back to the house. 
 So the town musicians lived in it the rest of their 
 lives. 
 
 SINGING 
 
 Of speckled eggs the birdie sings 
 
 And nests among the trees ; 
 The sailor sings of ropes and things 
 
 In ships upon the seas. 
 The children sing in far Japan, 
 
 The children sing in Spain ; 
 The organ with the organ man 
 
 Is singing in the rain. 
 
 — RoBEKT Louis Stevenson. 
 
SECOKD READER 35 
 
 THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 
 
 piFgrims fur'mture tur'keyg wrestled 
 
 When the Pilgrims came to this country, it was 
 winter. They had very little food and no houses. 
 
 The men cut down trees and built log houses. 
 While they did this the women washed and cooked 
 out of doors. At night they all went back to the 
 ship to sleep. 
 
 When the houses were built, the people brought 
 what dishes and furniture they had from the ship. 
 They had not brought much with them because the 
 ship was so small. 
 
 When they were all settled in the houses, the ship 
 sailed away. 
 
 Many people were ill and died before spring. 
 
 In the spring the Indians showed the men how to 
 plant corn and gave them some for seed. But, before 
 the corn was ripe, the people were nearly starved. 
 
 By and by another ship came from England and 
 brought them food. The men had learned how to kill 
 wild animals for food. Their corn grew well. Every- 
 body had plenty to eat. 
 
 So the Pilgrims thought it would be pleasant to 
 have a great feast. 
 
36 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 The women set to work to make corn bread and 
 puddings and pumpkin pies. 
 
 The boys and girls brought in nuts and wild fruit. 
 
 The men went hunting and shot deer and wild 
 turkevs. 
 
 Tables were built in the open air, because no 
 house was large enough. 
 
 The Indians were invited and were treated just as 
 if they were white people. 
 
 It was like a great picnic. Everybody had as 
 
SECOND READER 37 
 
 much as he wanted to eat. Ev^-ybody was gay and 
 happy. 
 
 The men jumped and wrestled and ran races. 
 The white men learned to play Indian games, and the 
 Indians learned to play white men's games. 
 
 The Indians tried to shoot with the white men's 
 guns. The white men shot with bows and arrows. 
 
 The children had a good time, too. The little 
 white boys and girls played with the little Indians. 
 
 When the dishes were washed the women came to 
 look on. Perhaps they tried a race, too. 
 
 All this lasted three days. Then the Indians 
 went back to their homes and the white people went 
 back to their work. 
 
 Both the Indians and the white people remembered 
 their good time. 
 
 This was the first Thanksgiving. 
 
 A THOUGHT 
 
 It is very nice to think 
 The world is full of meat and drink, 
 With little children saying grace 
 In every Christian kind of place. 
 
 — Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
38 
 
 SECOND READEB 
 
 WE THANK THEE 
 
 For flowers that bloom about our feet, 
 For tender grass so fresh and sweet, 
 
 For song of bird and hum of bee, 
 For all things fair we hear or see, 
 Father in Heaven, we thank Thee. 
 
 For blue of stream and blue of sky, 
 For pleasant shade of branches high, 
 For fragrant air and cooling breeze. 
 For beauty of the blooming trees, 
 Father in Heaven, we thank Thee. 
 
SECOND READER 39 
 
 SWEET PORRIDGE 
 
 There was a poor little girl who lived alone with 
 her mother. One day they had nothing left to eat, and 
 the little girl went out into the woods to look for 
 nuts. 
 
 There she met an old woman who gave her a little 
 pot. When she said, " Cook, little pot," it would 
 cook sweet porridge. When she said, "Stop, little 
 pot," it would stop. 
 
 The little girl took the pot home to her mother. 
 After that they never went hungry. 
 
 They could eat sweet porridge as often as they 
 wanted it. 
 
 Once the little girl went out to play, and her 
 mother said, " Cook, little pot." 
 
 The little pot cooked, and she ate till she had all 
 she wanted. Then she wanted the little pot to stop 
 cooking, but she did not know what to say. 
 
 So it went on cooking, and the porridge came up 
 over the top. 
 
 Still it cooked and cooked till the whole house was 
 full, and then the whole street. No one knew how 
 to stop it. 
 
 At last the little girl came home, and just said, 
 " Stop, little pot," and it stopped. 
 
40 SECOND READER 
 
 HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD 
 
 wig'wam 
 
 gloom'y 
 
 rein'deer 
 
 lulled 
 
 lin'den 
 
 rush'eg 
 
 owl'et 
 
 nursed 
 
 sin'ewg 
 
 fret'ful 
 
 wrin'kled 
 
 -eoneg 
 
 na'ked 
 
 e wa yea' 
 
 slum'ber 
 
 wail 
 
 By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
 Stood the wigwam of Nokomis. 
 Dark behind it rose the forest, 
 Rose the black and gloomy pine trees, 
 Eose the firs wdth cones npon them ; 
 Bright before it beat the water, 
 Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. 
 
 There the wrinkled old Nokomis 
 Nursed the little Hiawatha, 
 Rocked him in his linden cradle. 
 Bedded soft with mo'ss and rushes. 
 Safely bound with reindeer sinews ; 
 Stilled his fretful wail by saying, 
 " Hush ! the Naked Bear wall hear thee ! " 
 Lulled him into slumber, singing, 
 "Ewa-yea! my little owlet! 
 Who is this, that lights the wigwam ? 
 With his great eyes lights the wigwam ? 
 Ewa-yea ! my little owdet ! " 
 
 — Henuy W. Longfellow. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 41 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 
 HIAWATHA 
 
 
 lan'guage 
 
 hiiilt when e'er 
 
 se'crets 
 
 bea'vers 
 
 beasts lodg'es 
 
 a'corns 
 
 tim'id 
 
 learned swift'ly 
 
 broth'ers 
 
 Then the little Hiawatha 
 Learned of every bird its language, 
 Learned their names and all their secrets, 
 How they built their nests in summer, 
 
42 SECOND READER 
 
 Where they hid themselves in winter, 
 Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
 Called them " Hiawatha's Chickens." 
 
 Of all beasts he learned the language, 
 Learned their names and all their secrets, 
 How the beavers built their lodges, 
 Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
 How the reindeer ran so swiftly, 
 Why the rabbit was so timid, 
 Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
 Called them " Hiawatha's Brothers." 
 
 — Henry W. Longfellow. 
 
 HIAWATHA'S HUNTING 
 
 fa'mous e reef frol'ic trem'bled 
 
 ant'lers dis'tance fastened /ion'or 
 
 Then lagoo, the great boaster, 
 He the friend of old Nokomis, 
 Made a bow for Hiawatha, 
 From a branch of ash he made it. 
 From an oak bough made the arrows. 
 
SECOND READER 43 
 
 Tipped with flint and winged with feathers, 
 And the cord he made of deerskin. 
 
 Then he said to Hiawatha : 
 " Go, my son, into the forest, 
 Where the red deer herd together, 
 Kill for us a famous roebuck. 
 Kill for us a deer with antlers ! " 
 
 Forth into the forest straightway 
 All alone walked Hiawatha 
 Proudly, with his bow and arrows; 
 And the birds sang round him, o'er him, 
 
 "Do not shoot us, Hiawatha! " 
 
 Up the oak tree close beside him, 
 Sprang the squirrel. 
 In and out among the branches. 
 Coughed and chattered from the oak tree, 
 Laughed, and said between his laughing, 
 
 " Do not shoot me, Hiawatha! " 
 
 And the rabbit from his pathway 
 Leaped aside and at a distance 
 Sat erect upon his haunches, 
 Half in fear and half in frolic. 
 Saying to the little hunter, 
 
 "Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!" 
 
44 SECOND READER 
 
 But he heeded not nor heard them, 
 For his thoughts were with the red deer; 
 On their tracks his eyes were fastened, 
 Leading downward to the river. 
 To the ford across the river, 
 And as one in slumber walked he. 
 
 Hidden in the alder bushes. 
 There he waited till the deer came. 
 Till he saw two antlers lifted, 
 Saw two eyes look from the thicket. 
 And a deer came down the pathway, 
 And his heart within him fluttered, 
 Trembled like the leaves above him. 
 As the deer came down the pathway. 
 
 Then upon one knee uprising, 
 Hiawatha aimed an arrow ; 
 Scarce a twig moved with his motion, 
 But the wary roebuck started, 
 Stamped with all his hoofs together. 
 Listened with one foot uplifted. 
 Leaped as if to meet the arrow ; 
 Ah! the stinging, fatal arrow. 
 Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 45 
 
 From the red deer's hide Nokomis 
 Made a cloak for Hiawatha, 
 From the red deer's flesh Nokomis 
 Made a banquet in his honor. 
 All the village came and feasted, 
 All the guests praised Hiawatha. 
 
 HENRY W. LONGFELLOW 
 
 hun'dred 
 -eurring 
 
 gen'tle 
 -eoriege 
 
 There is an old 
 house at Portland, 
 Maine. It stands 
 near the ocean. 
 
 Nearly a hundred 
 years ago a little 
 baby lived in this 
 house. He had blue 
 eyes and curling 
 hair. He grew to 
 be a very gentle boy. 
 Everybody loved 
 him. 
 
 He often played 
 
 stud'ied 
 chest'nut 
 
 teach'er 
 daw^/A'ter 
 
46 
 
 SECOND BEADEB 
 
 by the sea. He loved the flowers and the trees and 
 the water. He loved other children too. He studied 
 very hard and could write letters when he was 
 only a little boy. He went to college when he was 
 thirteen. 
 
 You all know his name. It is Henry W. Longfel- 
 low. He wrote many poems. He wrote "Hiawatha." 
 " The Children's Hour " is about his own little girls. 
 
 He wrote another 
 poem called " Child- 
 ren." He wrote " The 
 Three Kings," which 
 is a beautiful Christ- 
 mas story. 
 
 When he was a 
 man he was a teacher 
 in Harvard College. 
 He lived in Cambridge in a house where Washington 
 once lived. 
 
 His daughter lives in this house now. She keeps 
 it just as it was when he was living. Many people go 
 every year to see the house. 
 
 The children once gave him a chair made of a 
 chestnut tree. You can read about the tree in " The 
 Village Blacksmith." 
 
 Even the Indians know about Longfellow's poems^ 
 
SECOND READER 47 
 
 In 1900 the Indians in the West invited Alice Long- 
 fellow to visit them. They played "Hiawatha" for her. 
 
 How beautiful is the rain! 
 
 After the dust and heat, 
 
 In the broad and fiery street, 
 
 In the narrow lane, 
 
 How beautiful is the rain ! 
 
 — Longfellow. 
 
 
 AN INDIAN STORY 
 
 
 spar'kled 
 
 whTs'per ing with'ered 
 
 ■erim'gon 
 
 spar'ro^os 
 
 tan'a gers rus'ding 
 
 sbr'ry 
 
 Here is a story that the Indians tell to their little 
 children at night by the wigwam fire. 
 
 Long and long ago, when the earth was young, 
 there were no trees. 
 
 The ground was green with grass. Bright flowers 
 lifted up their faces to the sun. But not a tree was 
 to be found in all the great world. 
 
 Gitchee Manito looked down upon the beautiful 
 earth. The wind blew softly. The water sparkled in 
 the sunlight. The flowers were blooming everywhere. 
 
 So beautiful was the earth that Gitchee Manito 
 came down from the sky and walked to and fro on it. 
 
48 SECOND READER 
 
 Wherever he went, trees sprang up from his foot- 
 prints. Fine and tall they grew, their leaves rustling 
 and whispering in the air and light. 
 
 All summer the leaves were green, but when the 
 frost came they turned brown and yellow and crimson. 
 
 Then Gitchee Manito was sorry for the leaves. 
 He knew they would soon be withered and dead. 
 
 So he came once more and gave each leaf a pair 
 of wings and changed it into a bird. 
 
 The brown leaves were sparrows and snowbirds 
 and wrens. 
 
 The yellow leaves were goldfinches and orioles. 
 
 The crimson leaves were tanagei'S and red-birds 
 and robins. ^ 
 
 This is why the birds love the trees and make 
 their nests in them. 
 
 And this is why the trees love the birds and give 
 them good places to build, and shelter them from 
 the storms. 
 
 Sing a song of seasons! 
 
 Something bright in all ! 
 Flowers in the summei', 
 
 Fires in the fall ! 
 
 — Robert Louis Ste-\t;nson. 
 
SECOND READBK 49 
 
 THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS 
 
 tap'ping sol'id bel/eve' lone'ly 
 
 Once upon a time there was a man who was very 
 poor. He lived in a little hut by himself. He had 
 no wife and no children. 
 
 One day he heard a tapping low down on his door. 
 He opened the door and there Avas a little gray goose. 
 
 As soon as the door was opened, she stepped in 
 and made herself at home. 
 
 The man was very glad to have her, because he 
 was lonely. Besides, he thought she would lay eggs 
 for him to eat. 
 
 The very first day the goose made a nest in the 
 wood box. 
 
 When the man went to get the egg for his dinner, 
 what do you think he found ? — not a big white goose 
 egg that he could eat, but an egg of solid, yellow gold ! 
 
 He could not believe his own eyes. He held the 
 egg in his hand. He turned it over and over. He 
 weighed it. It really was solid gold. 
 
 Every day the goose laid an egg just like the first 
 one. 
 
 The man hid the eggs in a safe place. 
 
 He made the goose a soft nest. He gave her good 
 
 IND. SECOND KEADEK 4 
 
50 
 
 SECOND BEADEE 
 
 things to eat. He was very kind to her, and well 
 he might be, for she was very kind to him. 
 
 Every night he took out the golden eggs and 
 
 looked at them. 
 
 At first he thought, " How rich I am getting ! " 
 After a while he began to think he was not gettii ;; 
 
 rich fast enough. And what do you think he did .' 
 
SECOND READER 51 
 
 He killed the poor little goose to get all the gold at 
 once, but he found no gold. The goose was just like 
 any other goose. 
 
 He thought more of the gold than he did of the 
 goose that was so good to him. So he lost the golden 
 eggs the goose would have laid if he had not killed 
 her. 
 
 THE GOLDEN TOUCH 
 
 Mi'das break'fast poiired 
 
 Once upon a time there was a very rich king 
 called Midas. King Midas had one little girl called 
 Marygold. 
 
 He loved this little girl better than anything else 
 in the world, but he loved gold nearly as well. 
 
 He thought about gold in the daytime and dreamed 
 about it at night, He wanted to have more gold than 
 any other man in the world. 
 
 King Midas kept his gold in a dark room under 
 his palace. 
 
 Midas went into this dark place every day to look 
 at his gold. 
 
 He would wash his hands in the gold dust just to 
 ^'e how bright it was. Then he would count the 
 dioney to see that it was all there. 
 
52 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 After a while he began to want all the gold in 
 the world. This made him very unhappy. 
 
 One day when he was sitting looking at his gold, 
 a bright light fell about h-im. 
 
 Midas looked 
 
 up. There stood a 
 
 young man with golden 
 
 hair and very bright eyes. 
 
 The young man was laughing and that made him 
 
 look very pleasant. He looked at all the gold. Then 
 
 he looked at King Midas. 
 
 "You are a very rich man, friend Midas," said he. 
 "How did you get all this gold? I think no otl' 
 man in the world has so much." 
 
SECOKD EEADEK 53 
 
 " This isn't much," said King Midas, "and it has 
 taken me all my life to get it." 
 
 "How much would you like to have?" said the 
 young man. 
 
 "I want everything I touch to turn to gold," said 
 Midas. 
 
 "Are you sure you do?" said the young man, 
 laughing still more pleasantly. 
 
 "Yes," said Midas, "that is just what I want." 
 
 " Very i^vell, then. To-morrow at sunrise you shall 
 have the Golden Touch." 
 
 The young man laughed more and more and grew 
 brighter and brighter till the dull place was full 
 of light. 
 
 The king put his hands over his eyes. When he 
 looked up again the young man was gone. 
 
 King Midas lay awake all night waiting for sun- 
 rise. When he saw the sun, he touched the white 
 cover on his bed. It was pure gold in a moment. 
 ' The king jumped out of bed and ran all around 
 the room, touching everything. Everything turned to 
 gold. 
 
 He put his clothes on and they turned to gold. 
 He picked u^) his spectacles and they turned to gold, 
 and he could not see through them. 
 
 He went out into the garden and touched the roses, 
 
54 
 
 SECOND EEABER 
 
 and they turned to gold. He went all around the gar- 
 den and touched every rose. 
 
 A fly lighted on his nose. But it fell to the ground ; 
 for it was gold, too. 
 
 Then he went in to breakfast. Every dish he 
 touched turned to gold. 
 
 He poured out a 
 cup of coffee and 
 the coflfee-vpot turned 
 to gold. 
 
 He took a drink of coffee, and it turned to gold 
 and burned his tongue. 
 
 Just then Marygold came in crying. 
 " Why are you crying this bright day?" said King 
 Midas. 
 
 " See this rose," said the little girl. "They are all 
 like this. There is not a red rose in the garden." 
 
 "How beautiful," said the king. "Do not cry| 
 
 1 
 
SECOND READER 55 
 
 about that. If all roses were like that one, I should 
 pick them myself." 
 
 " I don't like them," said the child, and she began 
 to cry again. 
 
 " Come and let me kiss yon," said Midas. " Then 
 you will feel better." 
 
 The moment he kissed little Marygold she turned 
 into a little golden girl. Her face was hard and yel- 
 low. Her hair was stiff. She could not walk. 
 
 There she was, with tears of gold in her eyes. 
 
 Her father took her hand, but it was hard, yellow 
 gold. Her dress was gold and she had on little golden 
 shoes. 
 
 The king could do nothing but cry and wish he 
 was the poorest man in the world. 
 
 He cared nothing for the Golden Touch. His little 
 girl was what he wanted. 
 
 Just then he saAv the young man standing in the 
 room. 
 
 "Well, King Midas, how do you like the Golden 
 Touch ? " said he. 
 
 " It has made me very unhappy," said the king. 
 
 " How is that? " said the young man. 
 
 "I have found that gold is not everything," said 
 Midas. " I have lost my little girl. She is all I really 
 care for." 
 
56 SECOND EEADBR 
 
 "You are wiser than you were, King Midas," said 
 the young man. " Shall I take away the Golden 
 Touch?" 
 
 "Yes, yes," said Midas. 
 
 " Go and bathe in the river in your garden," said 
 the young man. " Then bring some water and put it 
 on little Mary gold." 
 
 Midas ran out and jumped into the river with all 
 his clothes on. Then he hurried back with some water 
 and put it on little Marygold. 
 
 "Oh, Father, see how you have wet my clothes," 
 said little Marygold. "Why are you putting water 
 on me ? " 
 
 Marygold did not know that she had been turned 
 to gold, and her father did not tell her. She was 
 dripping wet and had to go and put on dry clothes. 
 
 King Midas put some of the water on everything 
 that had been turned to gold. 
 
 Marygold soon came back with dry clothes on, and 
 picked some rovses. 
 
 King Midas went about touching things all day. 
 He wanted to be sure the Golden Touch was gone. 
 
 He hated the sight of gold all his life. He never 
 went near the dark room. The gold was given to feed 
 the poor, and King Midas was a happy man. 
 
 — Adapted from Hwcthornc 
 
SECOND READER 57 
 
 ROOK-A-BYE BABY 
 
 Rock-a-bye baby, 
 In the tree top ! 
 When the wind blows 
 The cradle will rock ; 
 When the bough breaks 
 The cradle will fall ; 
 Down will come baby, 
 Cradle, and all. 
 
 THE BROWN BABY 
 
 fingers ham'mock bana'nas morn'ing 
 
 stock'ings par rots -eo'^oa nut stvaight 
 
 ■eol'ored mon'keyg 5r'ang eg 
 
 The little brown baby lives far away in a warm 
 country. She has a brown face. She has little brown 
 hands and fingers. She has brown feet and toes. 
 
 The brown baby does not wear a dress. She does 
 not wear shoes and stockings. It is warm where she 
 lives, so she does not need to wear clothes. 
 
 Her hair is very straight and black. She plays 
 out of doors every day. It is never too cold. 
 
 She sees the monkeys. They climb among the 
 trees. They hang by their tails. They chatter to her. 
 
58 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 She sees green and red parrots. Often she plays 
 with little gold-colored snakes. 
 
 The brown baby eats cocoanuts. She has a little 
 cup made from a cocoanut shell. Sometimes she 
 drinks cocoanut milk from it. 
 
 She eats bananas and oranges and many other 
 
 nice fruits, but she 
 has never seen bread 
 and butter. She has 
 never dreamed of ice 
 cream or candy. 
 
 At night she 
 sleeps in a hammock. 
 The hammock is in a 
 tree. Her father ■ 
 made it of vines for 
 her. 
 
 The wind rocks 
 the little hammock. 
 Her mother sits under the tree and sings her a sweet 
 song. Soon she is fast asleep. 
 
 If she wakes up, she sees the stars. Sometimes 
 
 she sees the little birds with their heads under their 
 
 wings. The monkeys often curl up near her and go 
 
 to sleep. Yi: 
 
 All night long the wind rocks the little bro'wii 
 
SECOND EKADBK 59 
 
 baby. The moon shines down on her. The leaves 
 rustle softly. 
 
 In the morning the great round sun comes up. 
 He shines on the brown baby's eyes. The birds 
 and monkeys call to her. Soon her eyes are wide 
 open. 
 
 Then her mother comes and takes her down. She 
 dips her into the brook for a bath. She rolls her in 
 the grass to dry. 
 
 Then the little brown baby has her breakfast. 
 After that she plays with the birds and monkeys and 
 flowers. 
 
 THE HUMMING BIRD AND THE BUTTERFLY 
 
 em'er aid per haps' veg'e ta ble dam'ty 
 
 ■e/iiys'alis -eorors caterpillar ug'ly 
 
 A tiny humming bird lived in a rose garden. 
 
 He w^as no bigger than your thumb. He was 
 bright green like an emerald. On his throat was 
 a spot like a live coal. 
 
 Oh, he was very proud. He was proud of his 
 pretty colors. He was proud of his strong little 
 wings. He was proud because he was so dainty. 
 
 He never ate anything but nectar from the flowers. 
 
60 SECOlifD READER 
 
 He lived all day in the air. He hardly ever touched 
 even a twig with his pretty little feet. ^ 
 
 One day he flew over into a vegetable garden. 
 
 "This is a very common place," said he. "I 
 should not like to live here." - 
 
 Just then he saw a green caterpillar on a parsnip 
 leaf. " Ugh, what an ugly creature," said the hum- 
 ming bird. 
 
 The green caterpillar put out her little yellow 
 horns. The humming bird thought she was going to 
 speak to him. 
 
 " Do not speak to me," said he. " Ton are too 
 ugly. It makes me feel faint to see you." And away 
 
 he flew to the rose garden. 
 
 The poor caterpillar felt 
 very sad. She wished she 
 could be beautiful like the 
 humming bird. 
 
 One day her skin began to feel tight. 
 
 " I think that I shall soon have a new^ skin," said 
 the caterpillar. " Perhaps I shall not be so ugly 
 then." 
 
 Sure enough she did get a new skin. The old one 
 split down the back and came off. Under it was a 
 bright, new skin, but it looked just like the old skin, 
 only it was a little bigger. 
 
SECOND EBADER 
 
 61 
 
 One day the caterpillar did not feel hungry. She 
 climbed up on the under side of a stem. There she 
 tied herself with a silk thread. 
 
 What do you think she did then? 
 She turned into a chrysalis like that 
 which you see in the picture. 
 ' -In a few weeks out she came, a 
 beautiful blue and black butterfly. 
 She had six legs. Her eyes were like jewels. Best 
 of all, she had four beautiful wings. She wanted noth- 
 ing but nectar to 
 eat, so she flew 
 into the rose 
 garden. 
 
 Whom should 
 she meet there 
 but the hum- 
 ming bird? 
 
 " I am the 
 caterpillar you 
 thought so ug- 
 ly," said she. " 
 now? " 
 
 The humming bird did not know 
 what to say. He wished very much to have the but- 
 terfly for a friend. But he was so much ashamed 
 
 Will you speak to me 
 
62 SECOND BBADEE 
 
 of the way he had treated her that he could not 
 say so. 
 
 The butterfly lived in the rose garden till she grew 
 tired of it. Then she thought she would go back to 
 her old home. 
 
 One morning she flew back to the very same 
 parsnip bed where she lived when she was a cater- 
 pillar. 
 
 She laid many eggs on the parsnips. " When my 
 eggs hatch, the little caterpillars will have food," 
 thought she. " Now I will go back to the rose garden 
 and enjoy myself." 
 
 THE SONG OF THE LARK 
 
 har'vest ear'ly float'ing di'a mond 
 
 heav'en prig'on er fad'ing hap'pi ness 
 
 rea'g^n SiYihough heart bit'ter ly 
 
 Out in the country it was harvest time. The 
 wheat was ripe and ready to be cut. 
 
 It was early in the morning. The stars were 
 fading. The clouds in the east were touched with 
 red. 
 
 Just as the sun rose, a lark flew up, up into the 
 bright, blue sky, singing and singing. 
 
 A poor girl was going out into the field to work^ 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 63 
 
 She had worked as long as there was light the day 
 before. The time for rest had been very short. She 
 felt tired and sad. 
 
 The lark's song came floating down through the 
 still air. She 
 stopped to listen. 
 
 It seemed to 
 her that an angel 
 stood and sang at 
 the open door of 
 Heaven. 
 
 All her hard 
 work was forgot- 
 ten. The world 
 seemed full of 
 beauty and happi- 
 ness. 
 
 When she could 
 hear the lark's 
 song no longer, 
 she , looked about 
 
 her. She hardly knew where she was. 
 a new world, 
 sky. 
 
 This seemed 
 She saw the beauty of the fields and 
 
 At her feet was a daisy. It had opened that 
 morning. In its heart lay a diamond dewdrop. 
 
64 SECOND READER 
 
 Then the girl went on to her work. Her heart 
 felt lightei'. The day did not seem so long. 
 
 The daisy had heard the song of the lark, too. 
 It looked up at the bird that could fly and sing. 
 
 " How happy I am," thought the daisy, " I can 
 see and hear. The sun shines upon me. The grass 
 kisses me." 
 
 Just then the lark flew down to the daisy. 
 
 He hopped around it and sang: "How soft the 
 grass is. What a lovely little flower this is. It has 
 a golden heart and a dress of silver." 
 
 How happy the daisy was. The bird kissed it 
 and sang to it. Then he flew up to the blue sky. 
 
 The next morning at sunrise the girl came again 
 to her work. She looked and listened for the bird, 
 but she did not hear him. 
 
 The daisy heard him singing a sad little song. 
 
 The poor bird had good reason to be sad. He was 
 a prisoner in a cage. The cage hung at an open 
 window of a house. 
 
 All day the lark sat drooping in his prison. 
 Sometimes he sang sadly of the fresh green fields, and 
 of the blue sky. 
 
 By and by two little boys came out of the house. 
 One of them had a large knife. They came straight! 
 to the daisy. 
 
SECOND READER 65 
 
 "Here is a nice piece of sod for the lark," said' 
 one boy. Then he cut out a square around the daisy. 
 
 " Pull the flower off," said the other boy. 
 
 " No, let it stay," said the first boy. " It looks so 
 pretty." i 
 
 So the daisy was put into the lark's cage. The 
 poor bird was beating his wings against the wire, and' 
 he did not see the daisy at first. 
 
 " They have gone away and left me without 
 water," said the lark. " What shall I do? My throat 
 is like fire." 
 
 By and by he saw the daisy. He touched it with 
 his beak. "You will die here, little flower. You and 
 the grass are all I have. Once I had the whole 
 world." 
 
 The daisy spread out its white petals. It showed 
 its golden heart as much as it could. The poor bird 
 looked at it, although he was dying of thirst. 
 
 Evening came, but no one brought any water. The 
 lark sank down on the grass. He spread his little 
 wings out wide. Then he was dead. 
 
 The flower could not shut up its petals and sleep. 
 It felt weak and ill. It drooped its head sadly. 
 
 Next morning' 'the boys came and found the lark 
 dead. Then they cried bitterly. But that did not 
 help the poor bird. 
 
 IND. SECOND RKADEK— 5 
 
6( SECOND EEADEE 
 
 They had taken him out of the free air and shut 
 him up in a cage. 
 
 While he was living they forgot him and left him 
 to die of thirst. 
 
 Now it did no good to cry over him and bury him 
 in a pretty box. 
 
 Hark, hark ! the lark at Heaven's gate sings. 
 
 — Shakespeare. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 Gen'o a Lat'in an'i mals is'lands 
 
 It'a ly sail'ors -ear'a vans four teen 
 
 In'di a -eom'pass -ea na'ry knelt 
 
 Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, 
 nearly five hundred years ago. His father was a poor 
 wool-comber and the little boy learned to do the same 
 work. 
 
 Genoa is on the sea. At that time, ships were 
 coming and going every day. 
 
 Christopher loved the water. He liked to talk with 
 sailors, so he often heard stories of the lands they 
 had seen. He sometimes saw the strange birds and 
 animals they brought home. 
 
 Many a time he wished he could sail away on ihe 
 great ships and see other places. ;\^ 
 
SECOND READER 67 
 
 He went to school enoiigli to learn Latin, writing, 
 and map drawing. When he was fourteen years old 
 he went to sea He was ca >tain of a small ship when 
 he was a very young man. 
 
 At that time people were afraid to sail very far 
 from land. They thought that the earth was flat and 
 that ships might fall over the edge of it. 
 
 Columbus thought the earth was round He 
 thought he could sail around it to India. 
 
 Silk was brought overland from India by caravans. 
 This took a long time. 
 
 Columbus thought he could find a short way to 
 bring the silk in ships. 
 
 He had no money to get ships and sailors, but he 
 did not give up. He spent many years visiting kings 
 to ask for help. 
 
 People thought he was crazy and laughed at 
 him. 
 
 Columbus grew poorer and poorer. His clothes 
 were old and he had no money to buy new ones. 
 
 At last the king and queen of Spain sent for him. 
 They wanted to hear what he had to say. 
 
 They gave him new clothes and said they would 
 help him when they were not so busy. 
 
 'r Columbus waited a long time. Then he made up 
 his mind to go away from Spain. He was growing to 
 
68 SECOND RBADEK 
 
 be an old man, and he thought he had no more time 
 to waste. 
 
 Queen Isabella heard this and sent for him. 
 Columbus told her all that he hoped to do. The 
 queen said that money should be given to him. 
 
 The money was hard to get because so much had 
 been spent on a long war. But at last Columbus set 
 out with three ships. 
 
 As the ships sailed out to sea, the men looked back 
 at the home they were leaving, and thought they 
 should never see it again. 
 
 In a short time they reached the Canary Islands. 
 Here they mended their ships and made ready for a 
 long sail. Nobody knew what lay west of these 
 islands. 
 
 As they sailed out into the west, the men sobbed 
 and cried like little children. 
 
 Soon the compass began to point in a new di- 
 rection. This frightened the sailors more than 
 ever. 
 
 Tlie men made a plan to throw Columbus into the 
 ocean, so that they could turn back. 
 
 One day they saw a branch with berries on it in 
 the water. A carved stick floated by. Flocks of land 
 birds were seen. >» 
 
 All these things made the men think they w6i'e 
 
SECOND READ 69 
 
 near land. So they did not throw Columbus into the 
 ocean. 
 
 Early in the morning of October 12, 1492, they saw 
 land. Beautiful trees and flowers of kinds they had 
 never seen were before them. Brown men, women, 
 and children stood looking at the ships. 
 
 Columbus dressed himself in his best clothes and 
 went ashore with ten mer 
 
 There he knelt down and thanked God Then he 
 set up a wooden cross and the flag of Spaiis 
 
 Columbus thought he had found India; t,o he called 
 the people Indians. 
 
 The Indians thought the white men were gods. 
 They thought the ships had come down from the sky. 
 They thought the sails were wings. 
 
 The white men gave them beads and rings. These 
 pleased the poor Indians very much. They had never 
 seen such things. 
 
 Columbus sailed about and found many islands. 
 The weather was like spring in Spain. There w^ere 
 flowers everywhere. Birds with feathers of green and 
 gold flew among the trees. 
 
 At the end of three months Columbus went back 
 to Spain, People no longer thought him crazy. 
 Eyery one wanted to see him. 
 
 In the picture we see him telling his story to the 
 
70 
 
 SECOND EEADER 
 
 queen. She gave him clothes fit for a king. He 
 had no trouble to get money and ships to sail to the 
 new country again. 
 
 Every one thought Columbus had found a new wav 
 to India. No one guessed he had found a new land. 
 
 SANTA GLAUS 
 
 nix ie§ 
 pix'ieg 
 
 j7nome§ 
 
 sprites 
 
 gSb'lin^ 
 serv'ants 
 
 ■ea'pered 
 har'nessed 
 
 Far away in the Northland lived a boy called 
 Claus. fy/} 
 
 On his first birthday, strange things came to paj^s. 
 
SECOND READER 71 
 
 The fairies, the dwarfs, the elves, the nixies, the 
 pixies, the goblins, the gnomes, the water sprites, and 
 the brownies came to his father's house. 
 
 They capered and jumped, and sang strange songs 
 all night. All the air was filled with magic music. 
 
 Even when he was a baby, Claus did wonderful 
 things. He made toys of everything that he picked up. 
 
 When he grew a little older, he made more beauti- 
 ful things. He could make carts, horses, dogs, lambs, 
 trees, engines, knives, paper dolls, rag dolls, wax dolls, 
 rubber dolls, all kinds of dolls. 
 
 All the other children liked Claus. He gave away 
 everything he made. All he cared for was making 
 things. 
 
 Claus talked with the trees, the rocks, and all the 
 beasts. He knew the language of all the birds. He 
 knew where to find all the fairies. 
 
 When Claus was twenty-one years old, all the fairy 
 folks came again to see him. 
 
 "We are your servants," they cried, dancing and 
 singing for joy. 
 
 "Go then to your homes," said Claus. "Bring me 
 the best you have. Look deep in the earth, earth 
 men, and bring me gold and diamonds. Bring me 
 pearls and beautiful shells from the ocean, sea 
 men." ''' 
 
72 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 All the others he sent toiSy in at the windows and 
 doors, and see what the children were doing. Claus 
 wanted to know which children were good and which 
 were bad. 
 
 Away went all the fairy people to do his bid- 
 ding. 
 
 All the beasts of the forest and birds of the air 
 came to Claus. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 "Choose from among us," they said. "We all 
 want to serve you." 
 
 Claus chose the reindeer to draw his sled. " You 
 shall go with me," he said. " You can run most 
 swiftly." 
 
 Many and many times has Claus harnessed his 
 reindeer and gone all over the world. 
 
 Children sometimes hear the sleigh bells, but no 
 one ever saw Santa Claus or his reindeer. He comes 
 at night when people are sleeping. In the morning 
 children know he has been there, by finding the toys 
 
 and candy. Adapted from Eugene Field. 
 
 
 THE 
 
 FLAX 
 
 
 Im'en 
 
 re fresh'ing 
 
 soaked 
 
 roffst'ed 
 
 ■elat'ter 
 
 won'der ful 
 
 -eom&ed 
 
 print'er 
 
 spir'it 
 
 sprin'kleg 
 
 type 
 
 sur priced' 
 
 The flax was in full bloom. It had pretty little 
 blue flowers. The sun shone, and the rain watered it. 
 This is just as good for flax as it is for children to be 
 washed and kissed. They look much prettier, and so 
 
 did the flax. -„ 
 
 " How well I look," said the flax. " People think 
 me very beautiful. They say I will make a fine piece 
 of linen. How pleasant it is to be of some use. I am 
 
74 SECOND EEADEE 
 
 very happy. The sun is so bright. The rain is so 
 refreshing. No one can be happier than I am." 
 
 " I have lived longer than you have," said the fern. 
 " I do not think the world is so pleasant. You will 
 not be so happy always." 
 
 "Why not? " said the flax. " The sun will always 
 be shining if it is not raining. I like both the sun 
 and the rain. I am growing. I am in full bloom. I 
 am getting ready to be of use. I am very happy." 
 
 One day a man came and pulled the flax up by the 
 roots. Then he laid it in water. The flax thought it 
 would be drowned. 
 
 The flax was soaked. It was roasted. It was 
 broken. It was combed. 
 
 At last it was put on the spinning wheel. Whirr, 
 whirr, went the wheel. Soon the flax was fine thread. 
 
 Then it was put into the loom. Clatter, clatter, 
 went the loom. Before long the flax was a beautiful 
 piece of linen. 
 
 "How wonderful. Here I am, something useful at 
 last. Once I was only flax. Now I am linen. Now 
 great care is taken of me. Here I lie on a green lawn. 
 Every morning the maid turns me over and sprinkles 
 me. I grow whiter and more beautiful every day." 
 
 After some time the linen was taken into the 
 house. There it was made into a dozen fine shirts. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 75 
 
 "I grow more useful every day," said the flax. 
 
 Years passed by. At last the linen was worn out. 
 "I would have been glad to last a little longer," 
 thought the linen, "but this must be the end of 
 
 me. 
 
 The linen rags were taken to a mill. There they 
 were torn into tiny pieces. They were soaked and 
 made into pulp, and then into writing paper. 
 
76 SECOND READER 
 
 " Well, now, what a pleasant surprise," said the 
 paper. " I am finer than I was before. Now I shall 
 be written upon." 
 
 Sure enough, beautiful stories were written on the 
 paper. People who read them were made happier and 
 better. 
 
 The paper was sent to the printer. All the words 
 on it were set up in type. 
 
 Many hundreds of books were printed, and this is 
 one of the stories. 
 
 At last the paper was put into the fire and burned. 
 The children sat on the rug and watched it blaze. 
 
 "Now I am going straight to the sun," said a little 
 voice in the flames. 
 
 The children heard it. They listened and tried to 
 make out what it said, but they could not. 
 
 When there was nothing left but black ashes, the 
 children sang : — 
 
 " Snip, snap, snurre, 
 Basse lure : 
 The song is ended." 
 
 But the song was not ended. The spirit of the flax 
 floated up and up into the bright sunshine and clear 
 air, singing and singing for joy. 
 
 — Adapted from Hans Christian Andersenyi% 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 77 
 
 THE DISCONTENTED PINE TREE 
 
 dis -eon tent'ed sigh'mg nee'dks won'dered 
 
 There was once a little pine tree who did not like 
 his needles. He was always sighing softly. Some- 
 times tears ran down liis bark. 
 
 One day a fairy came and 
 said, " What kind of leaves do 
 you want?" "Gold leaves," 
 said the pine tree. 
 
 So the fairy put the little 
 tree to sleep. 
 
 In the morning he woke up. 
 How beautiful lie looked. His 
 leaves shone in the sun. All 
 the other trees stood on tiptoe 
 to get a peep at him. 
 
 Then a man came through 
 the woods with a bag in his 
 hand. As soon as he saw the 
 gold leaves he began to put them into his bag. He 
 looked the tree all over to be sure that not even one 
 little leaf was left. 
 
 The little tree wept till his tears ran down on the 
 ground. 
 
78 
 
 SECOND BEADBR 
 
 The fairy came again. " What do you want now ? " 
 said she. "I want glass leaves," said the tree. 
 
 Again the fairy put the little tree to sleep. In the 
 morning he had glass leaves. They made a sound like 
 little bells. 
 
 But before the other trees had time to see him a 
 wind came along. He laughed and shook the little 
 
 tree, and all the 
 leaves fell down and 
 were broken. 
 
 The little tree 
 said, " Xow I will 
 ask the fairy to give 
 me leaves like other 
 trees." 
 
 When the fairy 
 came, the tree asked 
 for soft green leaves, and in the morning he had 
 them. The other trees wondered what had become 
 of him. 
 
 About noon a goat and her kids came into the 
 wood. They could reach up to the little tree, and they 
 ate all his new leaves. 
 
 The little tree called and called for the fairy, but 
 she did not come at once. When she did come she 
 looked angry. 
 
SECOND HEADER 79 
 
 *' I am tired changing your leaves," she said. " I 
 will only do it once more." 
 
 " Oh, please give me back my needles. I do not 
 want any other kind of leaves," said the poor little tree. 
 
 So the fairy gave him back the needles, and he 
 has been happy ever since. 
 
 THE STAR MONEY 
 
 trust'ing hungry begged mon'ey 
 
 Once upon a time there was a poor little girl. 
 Her father and mother were dead. She had nothing 
 but the clothes she had on, and a little bit of bread in 
 her hand. Some one had given that to her. 
 
 She was a good child, so she went out into the 
 fields, trusting jn the good God. 
 
 There a poor man met her and said : — 
 
 " I am so hungry. Give me some bread." And 
 she gave him all her bread and went on. 
 
 Then a child came and said, "I have no hat. 
 Give me something to put on my head." So she took 
 off her hood and gave it to him. 
 
 When she had gone a little farther, she met a 
 child who had no coat. He was very cold, so she 
 gave him her coat. 
 
80 SECOND EEADEE 
 
 Then a little farther on she met a child who 
 begged for her dress, and she gave that away, too. 
 
 At last she came to a forest, and it was growing 
 dark. Another little child came and begged for a 
 little shirt. 
 
 The little girl thought, " It is dark here. I can 
 do without my little shirt," and she took it off and 
 gave it to the child. 
 
 And as she stood with not one thing left, some 
 stars fell down from the sky. The little girl ran to 
 look, and she saw that they had all turned into gold 
 money. 
 
 Though she had just given away all her clothes, 
 she had on fine new clothes. 
 
 So she gathered the money into the skirt of the 
 little dress and was rich all her life. 
 
 — Adapted from Grimm. 
 
 THE WOMAN AND THE DOG 
 
 char'iot sol'diers pub 'lie foun't^n 
 
 «ommit'ted ter'ror slipper chains 
 
 The king rode out in his chariot. In the street he 
 saw a woman who had committed a crime. 
 
 Soldiers were leading her out to die. Her face 
 
SECOND READER 81 
 
 was white with terror. Tears rolled down her 
 cheeks. 
 
 It was just at noon. A hot wind was blowing. 
 The sun was like tire. 
 
 People crowded np to the public fountain to 
 drink. 
 
 A poor dog came to drink, but he could not reach 
 the water, and he fell beside the fountain dying of 
 thirst. 
 
 When the woman came by, she begged the soldiers 
 to let her stop a moment. Then she took oflf her 
 slipper and filled it with water for the dog to drink. 
 
 The dog drank and licked her hand. Then he 
 followed her, the only friend she had in that great 
 city. 
 
 The king saw this and called to the soldiers: 
 " Take off her chains. She shall not die." 
 
 Then he said to the woman, " The law is that you 
 should die. But. I cannot be less kind to you than 
 you have been to this poor beast. Go to your house 
 in peace." 
 
 To do to others as I would 
 
 That they should do to me, 
 Will make me honest, kind, and good, 
 
 As children ought to be. 
 
 IND. SECOND READER — 6 
 
82 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 BED IN SUMMER 
 
 In winter I get up at night 
 And dress by yellow candlelight, 
 In summer quite the other way, 
 I have to go to bed by day. 
 
 I have to go to bed and see 
 The birds, still hopping on the tree. 
 Or hear the grown-up people's feet 
 Still going past me in the street. 
 
 And does it not seem hard to you, 
 When all the sky is clear and blue. 
 And I should like so much to play, 
 
 I have to go to bed by day? — R. L. Stevenson. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 83 
 
 A FAR-OFF LAND 
 
 qui'et 
 skat'ing 
 
 queer 
 
 -ear ry mg 
 shiv'er ing 
 
 piece 
 
 tbss 
 
 How warm it was that July day ! There was not 
 a cloud in the sky. Everything was so quiet that 
 even the leaves seemed to be asleep. 
 
 Helen came into the sitting room, gave her hat a 
 toss, and lay down on a rug by the door. 
 
 " Oh, how I Avish I lived where such warm days 
 never come ! " said Helen. "How nice it would be to 
 go skating on the pond !" 
 
 As she looked around the room, a great change 
 
84 SECOND KBADBK 
 
 came over it. It seemed like a large bowl turned up- 
 side down. 
 
 It was small and low. In the middle a man could 
 stand, but at the side, her own head touched the top. 
 
 There were no windows in this queer little house, 
 and only one door. The door was so low that she had 
 to bend her head to go in and out. 
 
 In the middle of the room there Avas a small hole 
 in which there was a fire. Just above it there was a 
 hole in the top of the house to let smoke out. 
 
 There were no chairs, no table, no bed, no paper 
 on the wall, no books, and no pictures. 
 
 There were furs lying around the sides of the 
 room. Helen looked under these furs and found 
 snow. 
 
 She touched the wall and found tliat it was ice 
 and snow. " What a queer house," she thought. 
 
 Her own clothes had turned into furs. She was 
 dressed in furs from liead to foot. 
 
 She looked out at the low door. She could see 
 nothing but snow, and some queer little snow houses 
 like the one she was in. 
 
 Not far from the door, she saw a father, mother, 
 and two children. The father was sitting on a queer- 
 looking sled, to wliich six dogs were hitched. 
 
 All the people she saw had very dark faces, and 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 85 
 
 they were dressed in furs just as Helen was. The 
 father and mother were not nearly so tall as her own 
 father and mother. 
 
 They all came into the house, the father carrying 
 a piece of meat. The mother cut off large pieces and 
 gave them to the children. 
 
 They did not wait for the meat to be cooked, but 
 ate it at once. Helen did not like this. . 
 
 ;"But then," thought she, "how could they cook 
 it if they wished to do so? They have no stove." 
 
86 SECOND READER 
 
 She did not know that they sometimes cooked 
 their meat over the little fire in the middle of the 
 room. 
 
 Then one of the children asked her if she did 
 not want a piece of bear meat. Bear meat ! She had 
 never eaten such meat as that. 
 
 She said she was hungry, but had rather have a 
 piece of bread and butter. These children had never 
 heard of bread and butter. 
 
 Helen sat shivering before the little fire. She 
 thought how much more pleasant the room was 
 before the change. 
 
 How she wished to be warm and have a nice 
 supper. " Helen ! Helen ! come, dear, supper is 
 ready. Have you had a pleasant nap this afternoon ? " 
 
 THE DOVE AND HER CHILDREN 
 
 jour'ney 
 
 young 
 
 -elams 
 
 X 
 
 spear 
 
 proph'et 
 
 ■eooed 
 
 spread 
 
 tied 
 
 prej'ent 
 
 «15th 
 
 points 
 
 dove 
 
 There was once a man who wished very much to 
 be good. He set off on a long journey to see a 
 prophet. He thought the prophet could tell him hC)W. 
 
SECOND READER 87 
 
 On the way he went through a forest. There he 
 heard the cries of young doves. 
 
 He stopped to look. In a tree he saw the nest. 
 Beside it cooed the mother dove. 
 
 The man climbed to the nest. He took the young 
 doves and tied them in a cloth. Then he went on his 
 way. 
 
 The mother dove followed, a little way behind him, 
 but he did not see her. 
 
 When he came to the prophet's house, the prophet 
 came out to meet him. 
 
 " See the young doves I have brought as a pres- 
 ent," said the man. 
 
 But the prophet saw the mother dove in a palm 
 tree near by. "Open the cloth," said he. The man 
 did so and put the little doves on the ground at the 
 prophet's feet. 
 
 Down flew the mother dove and spread her wings 
 over them. 
 
 "See," said the prophet, "how this poor dove 
 loves her young ones. She is braver than the soldier 
 who rides against the spear points. Put the young 
 ones back into the nest. She claims them. They are 
 hers." 
 
 So the man took the little doves back to the nest, 
 and the mother followed him all the way. 
 
88 SECOND READER 
 
 WHAT FRED AND HIS FATHER FOUND IN THE 
 
 PARK 
 
 prig'on er pack'age -eo coon' a mong' 
 
 wal'mit ma'ple cat'er pil lar li'la-e 
 
 One day Fred went to walk in the park with his 
 father. 
 
 It was a cold day in winter. The leaves were gone 
 from the trees and snow lay upon the ground. 
 
 Fred walked along with his hands in his pockets 
 and his cap over his eyes. He didn't look around 
 much, for he thought there was nothing to see. All 
 the flowers were gone. The fountain was covered up. 
 Not a squirrel was in sight. 
 
 Fred's father stopped and looked up into a tree. 
 Fred stopped, too, and looked up to see what his 
 father was looking at, but he could not see anything. 
 
 Then his father reached up with his umbrella and 
 drew down a branch. 
 
 "What is this, Fred?" said he. 
 
 " Nothing but some old leaves," said Fred. 
 
 " Look again, my boy," said his father. Then he 
 pulled the bunch of dead leaves loose and put it 
 into Fred's hand. 
 
 It felt too heavy for dead leaves, and Fred looked 
 closer. 
 
SECOND READER 89 
 
 The leaves were held together by what Fred 
 thought was some kind of paper just the color of 
 the dead leaves. 
 
 His father took away the leaves and showed him 
 what was inside of them. 
 
 "What is it, Papa?" said Fred. "I never saw 
 anything like it. It is something wrapped up in 
 brown paper." 
 
 " See if you can open the little package, Fred," 
 said his father. 
 
 Fred turned it over and over, but he could find no 
 place to open it. He tried to tear the paper but he 
 could not. 
 
 " Please tell me what it is, Papa," said Fred again. 
 
 "No," said his father, "we will take it home and 
 you may find out for yourself." 
 
 Fred's father put the little package, as Fred called 
 it, in a cool place, and told Fred to leave it till the 
 next summer. 
 
 Fred watched it for a long time. Sometimes he 
 could hear something moving inside of it. 
 
 At last one warm day he found a hole in the little 
 package. 
 
 "Oh, Papa," he cried, "come here!" 
 
 As soon as his father saw the hole, he began to 
 look around the room. Fred began to look, too, and 
 
90 SECOND EEADEE 
 
 it was Fred who found a beautiful large moth on the 
 table cover. 
 
 The little boy had never seen a moth of this kind, 
 and he was very much pleased. He forgot his little 
 package altogether. 
 
 " Where did it come from, Papa? Isn't it pretty? 
 May I keep it?" said Fred all in one breath. 
 
 "Your little package is a cocoon, and this moth 
 came out of it," said his father. " You may keep it for 
 a day or two, for this kind of moth does not eat any- 
 thing. But then you must let it fly out in the sun- 
 shine. Its home is among the trees, and we must not 
 make a prisoner of it all its little life." 
 
 Fred learned many things about moths and butter- 
 flies that summer. 
 
 One day his father showed him a great green cat^ 
 erpillar that he had found on a walnut tree. 
 
 Fred was afraid to go near it at first. He was 
 afraid it might bite him. But his father told him that 
 it could not hurt anybody, even to save its life. 
 
 Fred's father put the caterpillar into a box with a 
 glass cover. Fred gave it fresh walnut leaves every 
 day. 
 
 In a few days it spun a cocoon just like the one 
 Fred's father had found in the park. 
 
 Fred had asked his father many times what made 
 
SECOND READER 91 
 
 the cocoons. This is the way his father answered 
 him. 
 
 As soon as the leaves were off the trees, Fred went 
 out to look for cocoons. 
 
 Wherever he saw dead leaves hanging on the trees 
 or bushes, he looked with care. Sometimes he found 
 cocoons even among the leaves on the ground. Once 
 he found one that had fallen on the sidewalk. 
 
 WHAT BROKE THE CHINA PITCHER 
 
 emp'ty 
 
 piteh'er 
 
 mm'ute 
 
 shrank 
 
 punish 
 
 kifch'en 
 
 crys'tals 
 
 tohole 
 
 chi'na 
 
 pfec'es 
 
 visit ors 
 
 groaned 
 
 It was a winter night. It was still, bright, and 
 cold. 
 
 Katy stood by the sitting room window, looking 
 
 out. 
 
 " It's going to be a bad night," said her father. 
 " It's growing colder every minute." 
 
 "Is it?" said Katy's mother. "Then, Katy, 
 you must go up to the spare room and empty the 
 china pitcher." 
 
 " Yes, Mamma," said Katy ; but she didn't go. 
 
 Katy's mother was rocking the baby to sleep. 
 
92 SECOND READER 
 
 Ten minutes passed by. Then she spoke again, " Go, 
 Katy, and empty the pitcher. It was your grand- 
 mother's pitcher, and I wouldn't have it broken for 
 anything." 
 
 " Yes, Mamma, I'll go in a minute," said Katy. 
 
 " Well, dear, be sure to remember," said her 
 mother ; and she went to lay the baby down. 
 
 Just then Jamie came in with some new skates, 
 and Katy forgot all about the pitcher. 
 
 Jack Frost was outside. He laughed and snapped 
 his icy fingers. 
 
 " That little girl will not empty the pitcher," said 
 he to himself. " She is one of the careless kind. I 
 know them. 
 
 " Now, little Miss, I'll just go in and punish you 
 for not doing what you were told to do, at once. 
 
 " The spare room is for visitors. I'll go in and 
 spend the night there. Where is it, I wonder? I'll 
 look for it." 
 
 Jack Frost went around the house softly and 
 looked in at the kitchen window. 
 
 Inside was a great red-hot stove. On it was a 
 teakettle sending out clouds of steam. 
 
 Jack Frost shook his head. "That is no place for 
 me," he said. "It would kill me in a minute. I 
 won't go in there." ^ 
 
SECOND READEE 
 
 93 
 
 He went on, looking in at one window after 
 another. At last he found a room where there was 
 no fire. 
 
 "This must be the spare room. Yes ; there is the 
 very pitcher I mean to break. 
 
 _^g|^: 
 
 
 ? w JLTafC* ' * JSf^ 
 
 " It is a pity to break so pretty a pitcher," he said. 
 " But Katy should have emptied it." 
 
 He stole quietly in, making everything he touched 
 cold. 
 
 He climbed up on the washstand and looked into 
 the pitcher. 
 
 "There is not much water, but I'll make it do," 
 
94 SECOND EEADEB 
 
 said he. Then he put his icy fingers into the 
 pitcher. 
 
 The water shivered and shrank back. "Oh," it 
 cried, " I am so cold ; " and it shrank more and more. 
 
 Soon it called out, " If you don't go away, Jack 
 Frost, I shall freeze." 
 
 "Good," laughed Jack Frost, "that is just what 
 I want you to do." 
 
 All at once many little voices came from the 
 j)itcher. They sounded like sleigh bells in Fairyland. 
 
 "Ho, ho!" they cried, "Jack Frost is making 
 us into beautiful crystals." 
 
 Then the drops of water began to turn into 
 crystals. But in doing this, they pushed very hard 
 against the sides of the pitcher. 
 
 The poor pitcher cried out, "Don't push me so 
 hard. I am afraid I shall break." 
 
 "We can't help it," said the drops. "We are 
 freezing and we must have more room." 
 
 The pitcher groaned and cried out again, " Don't, 
 don't! I can't keep from breaking!" 
 
 But the drops only said, "We can't help it. We 
 must have more room." 
 
 At last with a loud cry the poor pitcher cracked. 
 
 Jack Frost made some beautiful pictures on the 
 windows. Then he stole away softly. 
 
SECOND READER 95 
 
 In the morning the china pitcher lay upon the 
 washstand in pieces. 
 
 Katy wished that she had gone to empty the 
 pitcher as soon as her mother told her to go. But 
 being sorry couldn't make the pitcher Avhole again. 
 
 — Fmm " Cat Tails," published by A. Flanagan Co. 
 
 THE SHEPHERD BOY WHO KILLED THE GIANT 
 
 shep'Aerd 
 
 cap'tain 
 
 ar'mor 
 
 shield 
 
 moun'tams 
 
 thun'der 
 
 ar'mies 
 
 loaves 
 
 thou'gands 
 
 de fy' 
 
 san'dals 
 
 slaai 
 
 David was a shepherd boy. He lived in the 
 mountains and took care of his lather's sheep. All 
 day long he was alone with them. 
 
 While the sheep were feeding he watched them. 
 If any strayed away, he brought them back to the 
 flock. When they lay down to rest, he played upon 
 his harp and made up songs. 
 
 At night he gathered the sheep together. When 
 they were all quiet he lay down among them and 
 slept. 
 
 Once a lion came out from among the rocks and 
 took a lamb. David followed it. It dropped the 
 lamb and turned upon him. David caught it by the 
 
96 SECOND READER 
 
 mane and killed it with a club. A bear came at 
 night, but he killed that too. He was never afraid. 
 
 As the days passed, David -ew taller and stronger. 
 He had red cheeks and golden hair He was very 
 handsome, but he never thought of his beauty. He 
 thought only of his sheep and of the war that was 
 going on. His three brothers were in the king's army. 
 
 One day David's father said : " Leave your sheep, 
 my son. I want you to go down to see how your 
 brothers are. Take these loaves of bread to them and 
 this cheese to their captain 
 
 So David left his sheep with a keeper and went 
 early in the morning. 
 
 Just as he came up, the two armies were ready 
 for battle. They were in line facing each other, but 
 both armies were standing still. 
 
 David ran to see what they were doing. There, 
 between the two armies, was the largest giant ever 
 seen. 
 
 The giant shook his spear and shouted in a voice 
 of thunder: "Send a man out to light M'ith me. I 
 defy your whole army. Send a man out to fight 
 with me." 
 
 David said: "Will no man go? Then I will go." 
 
 David's brother heard him and said: "Hush!, I 
 am ashamed of you. You are only a boy. You cau- 
 
SECOND READER 97 
 
 not fight this giant. Go back to those few sheep and 
 take care of them. Do not come here boastins;." 
 
 But other men ran and told the king. The king 
 called David, but when he saw that he was only a 
 boy, he said : " You cannot fight this giant. You are 
 not old enough." 
 
 David said, " I killed a lion and a bear, and I can 
 kill this giant." 
 
 The king brought his own armor and sword. David 
 tried to wear them, but he could not walk. They were 
 too heavy. 
 
 So he took his shepherd's crook and his sling 
 in his hand, and five round stones in his shepherd's 
 bag, and went out to meet the giant. 
 
 Now the giant was dressed in brass armor from 
 head to foot. He had a brass helmet. His spear was 
 like a weaver's beam. A man carried a huge shield 
 before him. 
 
 David was dressed in a sheepskin. His shep- 
 herd's bag hung at his belt. A shepherd's crook was 
 in his hand. His hsad was bare. 
 
 When the giant saw a rosy-cheeked boy coming, 
 he laughed loud and long. Then he shouted, " Am I 
 a dog that you come out with a stick to beat me ? " 
 
 David ran toward him. As he ran he put a stone 
 j into his sling and threw it with all his might. The 
 
 IND. SECOND READER 7 
 
98 SECOND READER 
 
 stone struck the giant on the forehead, and he fell on 
 his face. All the army of the giant ran away. 
 
 A captain came out to meet David and led him to 
 the king. The king's son took off all his rich clothes, 
 and his sword, and bow, and belt, and put them on 
 David. 
 
 Then the army marched back to the king's city. 
 Girls came out to meet them. They sang, " The king 
 has slain his thousands, and David has slain his ten 
 thousands." 
 
 When the king died, David was made king in his 
 place. He lived a long time and was a great kiug, 
 but he never forgot his happy life with the sheep.^C: 
 
SECOND READER 99 
 
 He often played upon his harp and sang as he did 
 when he was a boy. Some of his songs are the 
 grandest songs that were ever sung. People often 
 sing them now. 
 
 THE SNOW IMAGE 
 
 Pe'6 ny im'age fr5st'y glit'tered 
 
 ■eom'fort a ble finished whirled non'sense 
 
 Violet and Peony were inlaying out in the snoAv. 
 Their mother was sewing at the window where she 
 could see them. 
 
 Yiolet was a little girl. Peony was her little 
 brother. His cheeks were red as a peony. So people 
 gave him that name. It was not his real name. 
 
 "Let us make an image out of the snow," said 
 Yiolet. " It shall be our little sister and play with 
 us all winter long. But she must stay out of doors. 
 We must not take her into the house. The heat will 
 not be good for her." 
 
 "Oh, yes," cried Peony. "Let us make a little 
 snow girl." 
 
 So they set to work. Peony brought snow and 
 Violet made the image. 
 
 Soon the snow image was finished. "Isn't she 
 
100 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 sweet?" said Violet; "but she is too white. Kiss 
 her, Peony, with your red lips." 
 
 " Oh, see ! " said Peony. " A red light is shin- 
 ing on her from the clouds ! It makes her cheeks 
 red." 
 
SECOND READER 101 
 
 "And, oh, see! "cried Violet, "her hair is like 
 gold ! " 
 
 Then they both kissed the little girl. What a 
 cold kiss ! 
 
 Just then a frosty wind blew throiigh the garden. 
 It whirled the snow all about. 
 
 The mother looked out. What did she see? A 
 little girl skipping lightly about with her two 
 children. 
 
 The mother came to the door to see the little 
 stranger. She thought she would bring all the 
 children in to the fire. 
 
 "Who is the.. little girl, Violet?" said she. "She 
 should not be out in the cold in a white dress and 
 with no wraps. Bring her in." 
 
 "Why, Mamma," said Violet, "this is our little 
 snow sister. We have just made her." 
 
 "Yes, Mamma," said Peony, " we have just made 
 her. Isn't she pretty ? " 
 
 "Violet," said her mother, "tell me the truth. 
 Do not jest any more." 
 
 " It is true. Mamma," said Violet. " Peony will 
 tell you so." 
 
 "Yes, Mamma," said Peony. "She is a little 
 snow girl. Feel how cold her hand is." 
 
 The mother looked at the little girl. She was 
 
102 SECOND KEADER 
 
 white and sparkling like snow. She glittered like 
 frost. What should be done? 
 
 Just then the father came home. " What child is 
 this? " he cried. " Why have you not taken her into 
 the house? She will freeze out here. Just look at 
 her thin white dress. Come in, child, and get 
 warm." 
 
 " Oh, father," cried Violet, " she is our little snow 
 girl. Do not take her into the house. She cannot 
 live where it is warm." 
 
 "Nonsense," cried the father. "It is some little 
 girl that is lost. We will take her into the house. 
 Then I will go and find who has lost a little girl." 
 
 He went close to the snow child and tried to take 
 her hand, but she shook her head and ran. 
 
 He ran all about among the snowdrifts after her. 
 At last he caught her. 
 
 She hung her head and looked sad. 
 
 " You strange little thing," said the good man. 
 " Do not be afraid. Come in and we will put a warm 
 dress on you and take you home ! " 
 
 So he led her into the house and gave her a little 
 rocking chair in front of the fire. 
 
 " She is half frozen, poor child," he said. " Make 
 her comfortable. I will go and find out where she 
 belongs." 
 
SECOND READER lOS' 
 
 He was only at the door when both children 
 screamed, " Father, come back ! Come back ! " 
 
 There was nothing but a little heap of snow on 
 the rug. While he looked, it melted into a little pool 
 of water. 
 
 "We told you so, father," sobbed the children. 
 " You would bring our dear little snow sister in, and 
 now she is thawed." 
 
 But the father thought she had run away when 
 they were not looking. He thought the snow came 
 from the children's feet. 
 
 — Adapted from Hawthorne. 
 
 
 THE WISE FAIRY 
 
 
 pa'tient ]y 
 
 splash'ing 
 
 diteh'ers 
 
 dis'taffs 
 
 saZm'on 
 
 pleag'ure 
 
 be like' 
 
 trust'y 
 
 lone'some 
 
 Once in a rough, wild country, 
 On the »ther side of the sea. 
 
 There lived a dear little fairy. 
 And her home was in a tree ; 
 
 A dear little, queer little fairy 
 And as rich as she could be. 
 
 To northward and to s©uthward, 
 /She could p.verlook the land, 
 
104 SECOND READER 
 
 And that was why she had her h»use 
 
 In a tree, yfu understand ; 
 Fgr she was the friend of the friendless, 
 
 And her heart was in her hand. 
 
 And when she saw poor women, 
 
 Patiently day by day, 
 Spinning and spinning and spinning 
 
 Their lonesome lives away. 
 She would hide in the flax ©f their distaffs 
 
 A lump of gold, they say. 
 
 And when she saw poor ditchers, 
 
 Knee-deep in some wet dyke, 
 Digging and digging and digging, 
 
 To their very graves, belike. 
 She would hide a shining lump of gold 
 
 Where their spades would be sure to strike. 
 
 And when she saw poor children 
 Their g@ats from the pasture take, 
 
 Or saw them milking and milking, 
 Till their arms were ready to break, 
 
 What a splashing in their milk-pails 
 Her gifts of gold would make ! 
 
 Sometimes in the night, a fisher 
 Would hear her sweet low call, 
 
SECOND READER 106 
 
 And all at once a salmon of gold, 
 Eight out of his net would fall ; 
 
 But what I have to tell you 
 Is the strangest thing of all. 
 
 If any ditcher, or fisher, 
 
 Or cliild, or spinner old. 
 Bought shoes for his feet, or bread to eat. 
 
 Or a coat to keep from the cold, 
 The gift of the good old fairy 
 
 Was always trusty gold. 
 
 But if a ditcher, or fislier, 
 
 Or spinner, or child so gay, 
 Bought jewels, or wine, or silks so fine, 
 
 Or staked his pleasure at play. 
 The fairy's gold in his very hold. 
 
 Would turn to a lump of clay. 
 
 — Alice Caey. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 ■eab'in wag'ons packed wres'^ling 
 
 ford'ed Aon'ored -camped char'-eoal 
 
 mo-e'-ca sins rail'roads s-carce earn 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky nearly a 
 liundred years ago. 
 
 The family were very poor. They had a little log 
 
106 SECOND READER 
 
 cabin with bare floors and walls. What furniture 
 they had was home-made and very rough. 
 
 Abraham's mother taught him to read and write a 
 little. 
 
 When Abraham was eight years old, his father 
 moved to Indiana. In those days there were no rail- 
 roads. There were not even roads for wagons. 
 
 All their goods were packed on two horses. The 
 father and mother and children walked. They forde< 
 the rivers for there were no bridges. At night they 
 camped and built a fire. 
 
 When they came to their new home in the forest, 
 they had to cut down trees and build a house. 
 
 Their first house had only one room and but three 
 walls. One side was left open to let in heat from a 
 big fire outside. They cooked their food over this fire. 
 
 Abraham's father shot deer, turkeys, bears, and 
 other animals in the forest. 
 
 Abraham's mother made clothes of the deerskins. 
 They covered themselves with the bearskins at night. 
 Their beds were made of dry grass. 
 
 Abraham wore a cap made of raccoon skin. The 
 tail hung down his back. He went barefoot or wore 
 moccasins like an Indian. 
 
 Abraham's mother made a garden with the help of 
 the children. They raised »corn and vegetables. Thev 
 
SECOND READER 107 
 
 were glad to work hard in the garden, for they were 
 very tired of eating nothing bnt meat three times a 
 day. 
 
 They had no sugar, no tea, no coffee. They had 
 nothing to eat or w^ear but what they could get them- 
 selves. 
 
 Abraham and his sister had no playmates, for no 
 one lived near. They could not go far from the house 
 for fear of wolves and panthers. 
 
 There were no schoolhouses and no churches. 
 There were no doctors. If people were ill they drank 
 tea made of plants. 
 
 When Abraham was old enough to walk a long 
 way, he Avent to school a short time. Thei'e was not 
 much school and he had to work. So he did not go 
 long. 
 
 Even when he could not go to school, he studied 
 ft home at night. Candles were scarce, and he had to 
 study by firelight. Paper was scarce, too, so he wrote 
 on a board with charcoal. 
 
 There were very few books, but people were glad 
 to lend Abraham any they had. He was always care- 
 ful of them and took them back as soon as he had 
 read them. He often walked a long way to get a 
 book. 
 
 Abraham learned to do every kind of work. Noth- 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
SECOND READER 109 
 
 ing was too hard for him. He was willing to do any- 
 thing to earn a living and to get books. 
 
 He was stronger than any of the other boys. No 
 one could excel him at wrestling, running, lifting, or 
 at any kind of work. 
 
 Everybody trusted him. The boys at school often 
 asked him to settle their quarrels. 
 
 When Abraham was a young man, his father went 
 to Illinois to live Abraham went with him and 
 helped him to build a house. Then he went to work 
 in a store. 
 
 He afterward became a lawyer. At last he came 
 to be President of the United States. 
 
 He was one of the greatest men that ever lived. 
 He is honored all over the world. 
 
 THE LOST DOLL 
 charm'ing ly ter'ri bly trod'den 
 
 I once had a sweet little doll, 
 The prettiest doll in the world. 
 
 Her cheeks were so red and so white, 
 And her hair was so charmingly curled! 
 
 But I lost my poor little doll. 
 
 As I played in the fields one day ; 
 
110 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 And I cried for her more than a week, 
 But I never could find where she lay. 
 
 I found my poor little doll, 
 
 As I played in the fields one day. 
 
 I \\ii:\\i ''"■'' /',.■' 
 
 b'<W ■''''' 
 
 They say she is terribly changed ; 
 
 For her paint is all washed away, 
 And her arm trodden off by the cows, 
 
 And her hair not the least bit curled : 
 Yet for old times' sake she is still 
 
 The prettiest doll in the world. 
 
 — Adapted from Charles Kingsley. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 
 PANDORA 
 
 
 ■eQr'ner 
 
 need'ed 
 
 morn'ing 
 
 voice 
 
 \lgM\y 
 
 re mem'ber 
 
 wheth'er 
 
 ■earved 
 
 trilst'ed 
 
 Ep i me'theus 
 
 trou'bles 
 
 €ured 
 
 rain'bow 
 
 sun'beam 
 
 mo'ment 
 
 
 Ltng and long 
 ago, when the earth 
 was young, all the 
 pe@ple were chil- 
 dren. Nf> grown 
 man or ^^tiuan had 
 ever been seen. 
 
 The children 
 needed no fathers 
 and mothers to take 
 care of them. No 
 one had ever been 
 ill. Cl®thes never 
 were out. It was 
 summer all the time. 
 Nice things to eat 
 grew on trees where the children c^uld get them. 
 
 The children never quarreled. They were always 
 happy. No child had ever been known to go into: a 
 corner to sulk. 
 
112 SECOND KEADEE 
 
 A h&j called Epimetheiis lived in a pretty little 
 hfuse all al6ne. One day a yming man br#uglit a 
 heavy b^x te* the door. 
 
 Epimetheus had never seen a y»ung man and he 
 was very much surprised. S» when the yaung man 
 said he wanted t© leave the bex there, Epimetheus 
 ceuld think ^f nething to say. 
 
 The y@ung man smiled at him and said, " T«u 
 must never epen the b©x ©r let any one else ©pen it." 
 Then he turned and went lightly away. 
 
 Epimetheus thfught at first that he had wings «n 
 his feet. But when he rubbed his eyes and looked 
 again, the yeung man was so far aAvay that he c«uld 
 ndjt tell for sure. 
 
 Afterward he thought he had not seen right, f©r 
 whe ever heard ©f any one with wings on his feet ? 
 
 The box had beautiful faces carved upon it. It 
 was tied with a string <$t twisted gald. Epimetheus 
 leoked at the faces and at the knot ; but he did n*t 
 touch the box. Then he heard his playmates call- 
 ing for him, and he ran away to play and forgot 
 the box. 
 
 When he came back in the evening there was a 
 strange little girl sitting on the steps. She said 
 she had been brought from a long way off to be his 
 playmate. Strange to say, she could not remember at 
 
SECOND READER 113 
 
 all where she came from. She only remembered that 
 a tall boy with wings on his feet brought her. 
 
 " That must have been the same boy that brought 
 the box," said Epimethevis. Then he showed the 
 box to Pandora. She Avanted to open it at once, but 
 Epimetheus told her what the young man had said. 
 Pandora thought the box must be for her. She felt 
 sure there was something pretty in it for her. 
 
 Epimetheus begged the little girl to go out and 
 play and think no more about it. She ran away with 
 him, but she could not quite forget the box. 
 
 Every day when the two children came in to rest, 
 Pandora looked at the box and wished she could 
 open it. After a while she did not want to go out at 
 all. The first thing in the morning, she began to 
 guess what was in the box. 
 
 One day Epimetheus went out alone to find the 
 other children. Pandora looked at the box first. 
 Then she touched the carved faces. Then she lifted 
 one corner. Down went the heavy box out of her 
 hands almost on her 
 
 She thought she heard a voice in the box ; so she 
 put her ear close to the lid. |v,;^ enough! Many 
 little voices were calling, " i'lease let me out, 
 Pandora." 
 
 Pandora touched the golden string very lightly. 
 
 INU. SECOND READER — 8 
 
114 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 She didn't know whether to pull it or not. But it 
 needed no pulling. Just the moment her fingers 
 touched the knot, it came untied. Then the little 
 voices called louder than before. 
 
 Pandora thought she would lift the lid a little and 
 shut it very quickly. But the moment there was the 
 least crack, out came a swarm of ugly little creatures. 
 They had wings like a bat and very long stings. 
 These little creatures were troubles of all kinds. 
 
 Pandora dropped the lid with a bang. Just at 
 that moment one of the troubles stung her on the 
 
SECOND READER 115 
 
 forehead. At this she screamed s@ leud that Epi- 
 metheus ran in. Just as he opened the door, a trouble 
 stung him and he began to scream. 
 
 Out flew the troubles over that happy country 
 stinging every child in it. All the children set up a 
 Lgiud screaming. For a long time nothing could be 
 heard but crying and meaning. 
 
 Pandora lay on the floor with her head against the 
 box, wishing she had never opened it. After a while 
 she noticed a sweet little voice calling: "Dear 
 Pandora, let me out and I will take away your pain." 
 
 " I will never open the box again," said Pandora. 
 
 But the sweet little Ymce kept singing: "Let me 
 ^ut, let me 9ut, dear Pandora. I am not a trouble, I 
 am Hope, and I can cure all the children of their 
 pain." 
 
 S© Pandora opened the box again. Out came a 
 smiling little creature with rainbow wings. It kissed 
 Pandora on the forehead and the pain was gone. 
 
 For a minute it went dancing about like a sun- 
 beam. Then it said go®d-by and flew out to kiss the 
 ether children. 
 
 It was always too busy to stay long at a time with 
 any child. But if a child were ill or unhappy, Hgpe 
 came flying in to comfort him. 
 
 — Adapted from Hawthorne. 
 
116 SECOND HEADER 
 
 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 
 
 par'ties 
 
 break'fast 
 
 fright'ful 
 
 wick'ed 
 
 mas'ter 
 
 prom'ised 
 
 hand'some 
 
 pal'ace 
 
 writ'ten 
 
 riish'ing 
 
 en chant 'ed 
 
 sur prised' 
 
 There was once a rich man Avho had three daugh- 
 ters and three sons. The girls were all beautiful, but 
 the youngest was the most beautiful of all. She was 
 always called Beauty. 
 
 The older girls were proud of their beauty. They 
 were proud of their money. They were proud of their 
 fine clothes. 
 
 Beauty liked her fine home. She liked her dresses 
 and her rings. She liked to be beautiful. But she 
 was not proud. She Avas kind to the poor. She often 
 stayed at home from parties to sit with her father. 
 
 At last the father lost all his money, and had 
 nothing left but a farm. 
 
 " My poor children," he said, " You will have to 
 live in the country. ,You will have to work hard. 
 My money is all gone." Tears ran down his cheeks 
 as he said this. 
 
 The girls all cried, but Beauty soon wiped her 
 eyes. She said, " Crying will not do any good." 
 
 The other girls said, "We do not know how to 
 v/ork." Beauty said, "We must learn how." 
 
SECOND HEADER 117 
 
 There was no help for it. They had to go to the 
 country to live. 
 
 The father and the three boys plowed the fields 
 and planted the wheat. 
 
 Beauty was out of bed every morning at four 
 o'clock. She made the fires, swept the house, and 
 cooked the breakfast. 
 
 She found this hard work, but she soon began to 
 grow used to it. She found time to read and sing. 
 So she was not unhappy. Her cheeks grew rosy and 
 red. She was more beautiful than ever. 
 
 The two sisters did nothing. They stayed in bed 
 till ten o'clock. Then they sat in rocking-chairs and 
 talked about being so poor. 
 
 The father heard that one of his ships had come 
 in. He had thought it was lost. 
 
 He had to go to the city to see about the ship. 
 The two girls begged him to bring them some new 
 dresses. 
 
 " What shall I bring you, Beauty? " 
 
 "You need not spend any of the money for me. 
 My dresses are very nice. I do not need new ones," 
 said Beauty. 
 
 " Oh, let me bring you something," said the father. 
 
 " Well, then, bring me a rose," said Beauty. " We 
 have none in our garden." 
 
118 SECOND KEADER 
 
 On the way home the father lost himself in the 
 forest. Night came on. It rained and snowed very- 
 hard. The wind almost blew him from his horse. 
 , He was afraid he should die in the forest. 
 
 All at once he saw a light. He went to it and 
 found a beautiful palace. The gates were open. He 
 went in. Tlie doors were open, but no one was to be 
 seen. 
 
 There was a stable behind the palace. He put his 
 poor horse into a stall and gave him some hay. 
 
 Then he went in at the door. No one was there. 
 He went on till he came to a dining room. Still no 
 one was to be seen. 
 
 He waited a long time but no one came. So he 
 sat down and ate. He was trembling all the time. 
 
 He waited till twelve o'clock for some one to come. 
 Then he thought he had better look about. 
 
 He opened all the doors he saw. In one room 
 there was a bed. Being very tired he went to bed. 
 
 It was ten o'clock next day when he woke up. 
 Beside the bed there was a new suit of clothes. His 
 old ones were gone. 
 
 He dressed himself in the new clothes. Then he 
 looked out at the window. He thought he would 
 see snow on the ground. But there was no snow 
 at all. 
 
SECOND READER 119 
 
 A beautiful rose garden was what lie saw. "This 
 must be fairyland," he thought. 
 
 He went and ate his breakfast. Then he went to 
 feed his horse and get ready to go. 
 
 The roses made him think of Beauty. " I can at 
 least take one rose for her," he thought. " The mas- 
 ter of the house will not care if I take one. There are 
 so many." 
 
 No sooner did his hand touch the rose than he 
 heard a loud roar. A frightful beast came running 
 toward him. 
 
 " Bad man," roared the beast. " I let you come 
 into my palace to save your life. Now you will take 
 my roses. You shall die for this." 
 
 The poor man fell upon his knees. " I promised 
 to take my daughter a rose," said he. " I did not 
 think any one would care if I took one of these. 
 There are so many." 
 
 " You have a daughter," roared the beast. " You 
 may go now. But send your daughter to take your 
 place. If she does not come, you must come back." 
 
 The poor father thought he would go home and see 
 his children. Then he could come back and die. 
 
 " Go to the room you .slept in," said the beast. 
 " Fill a chest with anything you see there. I will 
 send it to your house." 
 
120 SECOND EEADEB 
 
 The good man went to the room and filled the 
 chest with money. Then he set off, and soon reached 
 home. 
 
 The chest of money was there before he was. 
 Nobody knew how it had come. 
 
 He gave Beauty the rose, and told her what it had 
 cost him. 
 
 The two girls began to cry and blame Beauty. 
 The three brothers said, "Neither Beauty nor our 
 father shall go. We will go and kill the beast." 
 
 " You cannot do that," said the father. " I am 
 old. I will go." 
 
 Beauty would not do as her father said. In a few 
 days she and her father went to the beast's palace. 
 
 The father put his horse into the stable. No one 
 was to be seen. Then he and Beauty went into the 
 palace. It was just as he had seen it before. 
 
 They ate supper, and then waited for the beast to 
 come. 
 
 A loud roar sounded through the palace. The 
 beast came rushing in. 
 
 " So here you are," said he to Beauty. "You are 
 a good girl." 
 
 Then the beast went out and left them. 
 
 Beauty and her father went to bed. 
 
 In the morning Beauty said, " Go home, Father. 
 
SECOND KEADER 121 
 
 I am not afraid, I tliink the beast will not hurt me." 
 So her father went away. 
 
 When he was gone, Beauty began to look about. 
 The palace was the most beautiful place she had ever 
 seen. 
 
 Over one door was written, "Beauty's Room." This 
 surprised her very much. She opened the door and 
 looked in. It was the most beautiful room in all the 
 world. 
 
 There were cases full of books and music. A 
 grand piano stood open. Birds sang in golden cages. 
 
 "The beast cannot mean to eat me," she thought. 
 " I will not be afraid. I think he must be a good 
 beast." 
 
 At noon she found the table set for her. But no 
 one was to be seen. 
 
 At night, Avhen she sat down to eat, the beast 
 came in. "May I see you eat?" said he. 
 
 " Yes, if you please," said Beauty. But she was 
 very much frightened. 
 
 " I will not stay if you do not want me. Do you 
 think me very ugly ? " said the beast. 
 
 Beauty always told the truth. So she said, "Yes, 
 but I think you are very good." 
 
 Beauty ate, and the beast stood near, looking at her. 
 "Will you stay here always? " he asked. 
 
122 SECOND READER 
 
 " I will do as you wish," said Beauty. " I came 
 to die in my father's place." 
 
 Beauty began to be fond of the beast. He was so 
 good to her. 
 
 At last she began to be homesick. She begged the 
 beast to let her go home. She said she would come 
 back in a week. 
 
 The beast said she might. " Lay this ring on your 
 table to-night. In the morning you will be at home. 
 At the end of the week lay the ring on your table at 
 home. In the morning you will be here." 
 
 Beauty did as he said. In the morning she woke 
 up in her own bed. 
 
 Her father kissed her a hundred times. He was 
 so glad to see her. At the end of the week she 
 thought she would stay just one more day with her 
 father. 
 
 But the next night she laid the ring on the table. 
 In the morning she was in the beast's palace. 
 
 She waited all day. No beast came. " Where can 
 he be ? " thought Beauty. " I will go and look for him." 
 
 Beauty found the poor beast lying in the rose gar- 
 den. She thought he was dead. She began to crv, 
 and some of her tears fell on his face. 
 
 In a moment the beast sprang to his feet. But he 
 was a beast no longer. He was a handsome prince. 
 
SECOND READER 123 
 
 " A wicked fairy enchanted me," said he. " Noth- 
 ing could change me back to a man but the tears of a 
 beautiful girl." 
 
 Beauty sent 'for her father and brothers and sisters, 
 and they all lived in tlie palace. 
 
 The prince gave them everything they wished, and 
 they were always happy. 
 
 
 TAMING THE PIG 
 
 
 plertjfd 
 
 squeal an'i mals 
 
 dragging 
 
 teach 
 
 flock be tween' 
 
 wo»ld'n't 
 
 Once upon a time there were two little boys 
 named Tommy and Harry. These two boys were good 
 friends and played together every day. 
 
 One day Harry found a little chicken that was 
 very much hurt. He took it home and made it a 
 little bed. He fed it and gave it water every day. 
 
 Soon the little chicken was well. 
 
 It would run after Harry like a little dog. It 
 would hop up on his lap and eat out of his hand. 
 
 Tommy was very much pleased with Harry's pet 
 chicken. He thought he would like a pet himself. 
 
 His father said, " If you want to tame animals, you 
 must be good to them. Be kind to them and feed 
 them, then they will come to you." 
 
124 
 
 SECOND KBADEB 
 
 Tommy took a big cake and went out to find an 
 animal to tame. 
 
 The first one he found was a little pig. It had 
 run away from its mother and was sleejiing in the sun. 
 
 Tommy ran up to it, calling, '• Pig, pig, pig. 
 Come here, little pig ! " 
 
 The little pig jumped up and ran away. It- was 
 very much frightened. 
 
 Tommy ran after it, calling, "You bad little pig! 
 come here; I want to feed you." But the little pig 
 ran faster and faster. 
 
 So Tommy ran faster till he caught it by the leg.,; 
 
SECOND READER 125 
 
 " If you do not know your friends, I must teach you," 
 he said. 
 
 Then he held the little pig and tried to make it 
 eat. But the little pig would not eat. It began to 
 squeal for its mother. 
 
 The mother pig came running with all her other 
 little pigs at her heels. 
 
 Tommy was frightened, and he let the little pig go. 
 It ran between his legs and threw him down. The old 
 pig ran over him, and he was covered with mud. 
 
 Tommy jumped up and caught the old pig by the 
 leg, and began to beat her. 
 
 She ran all around, dragging him in the mud. 
 
 Tommy held on till he was dragged into a flock of 
 geese. The geese were frightened, but one old goose 
 flew at Tommy and bit his legs. 
 
 At this Tommy let go and began to scream. 
 
 Tommy's father came running to help him. 
 
 " What is wrong? " said he. " Why did you catch 
 the pig by the leg? " 
 
 " I was only doing what you told me to do," said 
 Tommy. " I was trying to feed the pig and make it 
 tame." 
 
 " Are you hurt? " said his father. 
 
 "No, I am not much hurt," said Tommy. 
 '] ' " Then go and wash yourself and put on clean 
 
126 SECOND KEADBE 
 
 clothes," said his father. " When you come back we 
 will talk it over." 
 
 Tommy soon came back, looking much better. 
 
 " When did I tell you to catch a pig by the leg," 
 said his father. 
 
 " You said that feeding animals is the way to 
 make them like me," said Tommy. " The pig ran 
 away. It wouldn't eat." 
 
 "How was the pig to know what you wanted?" 
 said his father. " It thought you wanted to hurt it. 
 
 " When you want to tame any animal, you must 
 wait till you find out something about it. 
 
 " You must go up to it slowly and quietly. If it 
 is frightened, you must not touch it. 
 
 " You must wait till it sees that you are not going 
 to hurt it. Then it will come to you to be fed. By 
 and by it will be as tame as Harry's chicken." 
 
 — From SancJford and Merton. 
 
 DANDELION DOWN 
 
 silk'en sta/k feath'ery €5m'mon 
 
 blSs'soms g/iost sev'en ty plumes 
 
 Little Floss-Hair played in the sunlight among the 
 dandelions. Her shining silken hair was yellow like 
 the blossoms. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 127 
 
 Grandmother sat spinning in the door. She was 
 watching little Floss-Hair. A sunbeam danced around 
 her spinning wheel. She seemed to spin behind a 
 golden veil. 
 
 Grandmother looked very beautiful. Her dress 
 was gray. Her hair was white as snow. Her eyes 
 were qniet and smiling. 
 
 Floss-Hair broke a downy ball 
 from its stalk. She blew it one, 
 two, three times. The feathery 
 seeds flew all around her. Not 
 one was left on the stem. 
 
 " Grandmother wants me," said 
 little Floss-Hair and away she ran 
 to the door. 
 
 " Why have you stopped your 
 play, little one ? " asked her 
 grandmother. 
 
 " Why, the pretty yellow dan- 
 delions are nearly all gone," said 
 Floss-Hair. " In their places are 
 little round gray heads. They look like ghosts. Why 
 do flowers need to die, grandmother? " 
 
 " Did you see where the seed feathers went?" 
 
 "Oh, into the air. Up into the clouds," said 
 Floss-Hair. 
 
128 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 " No, no, little girl," said her grandmother. " Some 
 of them hid under the grass. There they will sleep 
 all summer and all winter. Next spring they will 
 come out wide awake. But then they will be young 
 dandelions. And see there, the yellowbirds are tak- 
 ing some of the little white 
 plumes to line their nests. Many 
 little birds will be glad that the 
 golden flowers turned to down." 
 
 " So the dandelions are spin- 
 ning silk to line the birds' nests," 
 said Floss-Hair. " And grand- 
 mother sits and spins for me. 
 Dear grandmother, your hair is 
 soft and white like the dandelion 
 down." 
 
 " Little one, my hair was once 
 all flyaway gold like yours. Call 
 me Dandelion Down, the ghost of 
 a little Floss-Hair that played among the dandelion 
 blossoms seventy years ago." 
 
 " No, no, grandmother. I will not call dandelion 
 down a ghost any more. It is only a common little 
 flower turned into an angel. It is like my grand- 
 mother, who is always doing kind things. No, no, 
 Grandmother, I will always love the dandelion down." 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 129 
 
 And Floss-Hair ran back to her play, and her 
 grandmother sat in the door watching her and 
 spinning. 
 
 Bcoar. 
 
 TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR 
 
 won'der 
 
 twin'kle 
 
 ■eur'tflins 
 
 trav'el er oi'ien 
 
 glo'ri ous 
 
 Twinkle, twinkle, 
 
 little star; 
 How I wonder 
 what you are, 
 CTp above the world so high, 
 Like a diamond in the sky ! 
 
 When the glorious sun is set, 
 When the grass with dew is wet, 
 Then you show your little light. 
 Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. 
 
 In the dark blue sky you keep. 
 And often through my curtains peep; 
 For you never shut your eye. 
 Till the sun is in the sky. 
 
 IND. SECOND READER — 9 
 
130 SECOND EEADEK 
 
 As your bright and tiny spark 
 Lights the traveler in the dark, 
 Though I know not what you are, 
 Twinkle, twinkle, little star ! 
 
 BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER GOAT 
 
 tea§e 
 
 early 
 
 angry 
 
 ■ear 'pen ter 
 
 hoofs 
 
 pop'lar 
 
 ras'-eal 
 
 rage 
 
 starve 
 
 light'ning 
 
 bram'ble 
 
 h.ard'ly 
 
 A long time ago Brother Rabbit lived near Brother 
 Goat. 
 
 Brother Goat's horns were strong and sharp. So 
 he was rfot afraid of anything. 
 
 Poor Brother Rabbit was afraid of nearly every- 
 thing. He could not bite. He had no horns. He 
 could only rim away when he was afraid. 
 
 Brother Goat always turned up his nose at Brother 
 Rabbit. He hardly ever spoke to him when he met 
 him. 
 
 If he ever said anything, it was something to scare 
 Brother Rabbit out of his wits. 
 
 Brother Goat would say, "Brother Rabbit, here 
 comes Brother Fox." Then Brother Rabbit would run 
 himself out of breath to get away. 
 
SECOND READER 131 
 
 Sometimes Brother Goat would say, "Here is 
 Mr. Wolf." Then Brother Rabbit would almost 
 faint. 
 
 Now Brother Rabbit was small, but he knew a 
 thing or two. He found out that Brother Goat liked 
 nice things to eat. So he made a feast and asked 
 Brother Goat to come. He thought Brother Goat 
 would be ashamed to tease him after that. 
 
 Brother Goat had never seen such a feast. He ate 
 and ate. At last he asked for a drink of water. Poor 
 Brother Rabbit had no water. He was afraid to go to 
 the spring to get it. 
 
 Brother Goat said, "Let us go and dig a well by 
 the big poplar tree." Mr. Wolf lived near there. 
 Brother Goat was teasing Brother Rabbit again. 
 
 Brother Rabbit said, "I do not need a well. I 
 drink the dew on the leaves early in the morning." 
 
 Brother Goat said, "I will dig the well myself. 
 Then all the water will be mine." 
 
 So Brother Goat went out and began to dig with 
 his sharp horns and sharp hoofs. He made the 
 ground fly all around. Soon he found water and took 
 a drink. \ 
 
 The next day Mr. Wolf went away on a visit. 
 'Brother Rabbit thought he would go down and get 
 some water. When Brother Goat came he saw 
 
132 
 
 SECOND EEADEE 
 
 Brother Rabbit's tracks. This made him angry. " I 
 will catch the rascal," he said to himself. 
 
 Brother Goat was a carpenter. He could make all 
 sorts of things of wood. He ran for his tools and 
 made a wooden baby. He put tar all over it. It 
 looked like a darky baby. 
 
 Brother Goat set the tar baby at the edge of the 
 well. Then he hid in the bushes. 
 
 By and by Brother Rabbit 
 came to get a pail of water. He 
 was creeping along very softly, 
 hiding under grass and behind 
 stones. 
 
 When he saw the tar baby, 
 he sat as still as a stone. He 
 looked just like the dry leaves 
 and grass around him. 
 
 The tar baby sat still. 
 Brother Rabbit looked at it a 
 long time. At last he came up to it and said, " How 
 do you do, tar baby ? " 
 
 Tlie tar baby didn't answer. Brother Rabbit said, 
 " How do you do," again. 
 
 But the tar baby didn't answer. So Brother Rab- 
 bit said, " I'll tcnxeh you better manners." With that 
 he slapped the tar baby's face. 
 
 I 
 
SECOND REzVDEE 133 
 
 His paw stuck fast. " Let go of my paw," said 
 Brother Kabbit, "or I'll slap von again." 
 
 In a minute he slapped the tar baby with his other 
 paw. That stuck fast too. 
 
 "Are you going to let go of my paws?" shouted 
 Brother Eabbit. The tar baby didn't let go. 
 
 Brother Eabbit kicked the tar baby with his hind 
 foot and that stuck. Then he was in a rage. He 
 screamed, "Do you see that foot? You let go of me 
 or I'll kick you so hard with it you'll think lightning 
 has struck you." Then he kicked with his last foot 
 and it stuck. 
 
 Out sprang Brother Goat. " Now I have you, 
 you rascal," he cried. 
 
 He tied Brother Rabbit hand and foot. Then he 
 sat down to think how to kill him. At last he made 
 up his mind to burn poor Brother Rabbit. 
 
 Just then Brother Goat's daughter, Miss Nanny, 
 came along. "Why, Papa," she said, "throw that 
 good-for-nothing creature into the bramble patch. I 
 want you to come with me to get some nice grass." 
 
 Brother Rabbit was shaking with fear. But he 
 called out, " Oh, please don't throw me into the 
 bramble patch. Oh, please don't. Burn me. Drown 
 ine. Starve me to death. But don't throw me into 
 the bramble patch," 
 
134 SECOND READER 
 
 "Aha, rascal, you don't like brambles," said 
 Brother Goat. "Into them you go." And he ran 
 and threw Brother Rabbit into the very middle of the 
 bramble patch. 
 
 Brother Rabbit fell on his" feet. How he laughed. 
 He kept calling all day, "Born and bred in the 
 bramble patch. Born and bred in the bramble 
 patch." 
 
 Brother Goat was so much vexed, that he took his 
 whole family and moved away. 
 
 So Brother Rabbit was happy forever after. 
 
 THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE 
 
 Aour lead'en differ ent u ni forms 
 
 dale plain drills -eoun'ter pane 
 
 When I was sick and lay in bed, 
 I had two pillows at my head, 
 And all my toys beside me lay 
 To keep me happy all the day. 
 
 And sometimes for an hour or so 
 I watched my leaden soldiers go, 
 With different uniforms and drills, 
 Among the bed clothes, through the hills. 
 
SECOND READER 135 
 
 And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
 All up and down among the sheets ; 
 Or brought my trees and houses out, 
 And phxnted cities all about. 
 
 I ^Yas the giant great and still 
 That sits upon the pillow-hill, 
 And sees before him, dale and plain, 
 The pleasant Land of Counterpane. 
 
 — EoBEKT Louis Stevenson. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 hatch'et de lieht'ed val'u a ble cheered 
 
 'o^ 
 
 When George Washington was a little boy his 
 father gave him a hatchet on his birthday. 
 
 George was delighted with the hatchet. He went 
 out to chop with it. He chopped sticks and bits of 
 board. He drove sticks into the ground, and cut 
 some wood for the fire. 
 
 He had often seen men cut down trees, and he 
 thought he would like to cut one down. He looked 
 about for a tree, and the first one he came to was a 
 cherry tree. 
 
 Cherry trees were scarce. This one was very 
 
136 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 valuable. His father hoped to raise many cherry 
 trees from the seeds. 
 
 But George thought of nothing but cutting a tree 
 down with his new hatchet. He didn't even see that 
 it was a fruit tree. 
 
 He chopped and chopped. How the chips flew! 
 George laughed to see thein. When the tree fell, he 
 cheered as he had heard the men do. 
 
 When his father saw the tree he was very sorry, 
 and very angry too. 
 
 He thought of George's new liatchet ; so he called 
 the little boy and said, " Did you cut down my cherry 
 tree?" 
 
SECOND READER 137 
 
 George was so happy with his hatchet that he had 
 forgotten all about the tree. 
 
 He was very much frightened ; in those days, 
 children were often whipped. He was sorry too. 
 
 Tears came into his eyes, but he was brave, so he 
 said : " Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my 
 little hatchet." 
 
 His father said, "It will be hard to get another 
 cherry tree. It will take a long time for one to 
 grow. 
 
 " But I would rather lose a thousand cherry trees 
 than have my boy tell one lie." 
 
 After that George always took care not to chop a 
 fruit tree. 
 
 TO THE VIOLET 
 
 Come, pretty Violet, 
 
 Winter's away; 
 Come, for without you 
 
 May isn't May. 
 Down through the sunshine 
 
 Wings flutter and fly ; — 
 Quick, little Violet, 
 
 Open your eye. 
 
 — Lucy Laecom. 
 
138 SECOND KEADEK 
 
 POCAHONTAS 
 
 Po -ea hon'tas Pow hat an' re turned' -eom'pass 
 Vir gin'i a war'ri ors bap tized' sav'age 
 
 Pocahontas was a little Indian princess. She 
 lived in Virginia. Her father was an Indian king. 
 His name was Powhatan. 
 
 One day a ship sailed up the river from the ocean. 
 The Indians had never seen such a thing. They 
 thought the sails were wings. They hid behind trees 
 and watched it. 
 
 Soon they saw white men come out of the ship. 
 The Indians thought these men had come from the 
 sky. They were surprised at their strange color and 
 clothing. 
 
 The white men set about building a town. After 
 a long time the Indians ventured to go near them. 
 
 The white men could not understand the Indian 
 language at first. But the Indians made signs and 
 the white men understood. 
 
 After a while they could speak with each other a 
 little. 
 
 The white men gave the Indians beads and bells 
 and knives. These pleased the Indians very much. 
 They were glad tlie white men had come. 
 
 They gave the white men food. The white men 
 
SECOND READER 139 
 
 were very glad to get it. But after a while they began 
 to be unkind to the Indians. 
 
 This made the Indians angry. They had been 
 good to the white men. The white men had returned 
 evil for good. 
 
 So the Indians would bring in no more food. 
 Soon the white men were starving. 
 
 Captain John Smith, the leader, went up the river 
 to see the Indians. They caught him and tied his 
 hands. Then they took him from village to village. 
 All the Indians wanted to see a white man. 
 
 Captain John Smith had a little compass. He 
 showed it to the Indians. They thought it had magic 
 in it. 
 
 At last he Avas brought before the king. It is said 
 that the king decided to have him killed. 
 
 A large stone was brought in. Smith's hands and 
 feet were tied. He was laid with his head on the 
 stone. Two warriors stood ready to kill him with war 
 clubs. 
 
 The king was sitting on a throne. His little 
 daughter, Pocahontas, was by his side. Indian chiefs 
 and warriors stood waiting. 
 
 Just as the two Indians drew back their clubs to 
 strike, Pocahontas ran and threw herself on Captain 
 /John Smith. 
 
140 
 
 SECOND READER 
 
 She put her arms around his neck. She laid her 
 head on his head. The men were afraid to strike. 
 They were afraid they might hurt the little girl. 
 
 Pocahontas begged her father to spare Captain 
 John Smith's life. This savage Indian king loved his 
 
 little daughter. He could not bear to refuse her any- 
 thing. So Smith was not killed. 
 
 Pocahontas was always kind to the white people. 
 She often gave them food. Sometimes the Indians 
 made plans to kill them. Pocahontas always sent 
 word to them. 
 
 When she grew up she was baptized. She was 
 called the Lady Rebecca. She even visited Englan 
 There she was treated like a royal princess. 
 
SECOND KEADBE, 141 
 
 THE FROGS AND THE OX 
 
 rusli'eg tum'bling eag'ily dived 
 
 biggest tadpole^ mon'ster burst 
 
 Some little frogs lived in a pond. The pond was 
 just right for frogs. It was full of rushes. The water 
 was cool and green. High grass grew all around it. 
 There were water lily leaves to sit on. 
 
 Sometimes the little frogs went out on the bank. 
 There they played leap frog, or tried to sing like the 
 birds. Sometimes they dived and swam all day. 
 They always had a good time. 
 
 One day their mother went away on a visit. She 
 told them she would soon be back and to be good 
 children. 
 
 First the little frogs went up on the bank to catch 
 insects. Then they played tag in the tall grass. 
 
 An ox came down to the water to drink. The 
 little frogs crept under the biggest leaves they could 
 find. They had never seen so huge a creature. 
 
 The ox soon went away, but the little frogs were 
 afraid to co' - out. 
 
 By u,.a\ by their mother came home. Then the 
 
 f^ePS^ came tumbling out. They all began to 
 
142 
 
 SECOND EEADER 
 
 "Oh, motlier," cried they, "a great monster was 
 here." 
 
 The mother frog had never seen anything so large 
 as an ox. She thought she could easily make her- 
 self look as large. She 
 blew herself up and said, 
 "Was it as large as this?" 
 " Oh, yes, mother, much 
 larger." 
 
 She blew herself up 
 more. "Was it as large 
 as this?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, mother, much 
 larger." 
 
 Then the old frog blew 
 and blew and blew herself 
 up. 
 
 The little frogs began to 
 cry. "Oh, please, mother, 
 do not try. If you burst 
 yourself, you could never 
 be large enough. Please 
 do not." And the little frogs crie; louder and 
 louder. 
 
 At last the mother frog said, "I don't believe 
 is anything larger than I am now. I am not g 
 
 ?oii\ . 
 
SECOND READER 143 
 
 make my.self any larger. You have been asleep and 
 dreaming." 
 
 The ox never came back, and the little frogs soon 
 began to think they had been dreaming as their 
 mother said. So they were not afraid to go upon the 
 bank and never afraid to stay alone. 
 
 Sometimes they told other little frogs about the 
 queer dream they had. 
 
 The other little frogs then tried to dream about 
 monsters, too. 
 
 But they could never dream about anything but 
 frogs, and tadpoles, and nice things to eat. 
 
 PUSSY WILLOW'S WELCOME 
 
 brimmed elm with in' i(;rap'per 
 
 The brook is brimmed with melting snow, 
 The maple sap is running. 
 And on the highest elm a crow 
 His coal-black wings is sunning. 
 And sweet and low the south winds blow. 
 And through the brown fields calling go, 
 " Come, Pussy ! Pussy Willow ! 
 Within your close brown wrapper stir. 
 Come out and show your silver fur. 
 Come, Pussy ! Pussy Willow ! " 
 
144 
 
 SECOND KEADER 
 
 wood'en 
 
 A GOOD JOKE 
 
 wag'es un kind' 
 
 in stead' 
 
 A rich boy and his teacher were once walking 
 through the woods. They came to a tree that had 
 
 been cut down. By it lay an ax and a pair of wooden 
 shoes. 
 
 They looked about and at last saw the woodcutter. 
 He was resting hiuiself on the bank of a brook with 
 his feet in tlie water, and he did not see them. 
 
 The boy picked up two stones. 
 
 " I will put these into his shoes," said he. " Then 
 
SECOND READER 145 
 
 we will hide and watch him. It will be a good joke 
 to see him make faces when he puts them on." 
 
 "I think you will not get much fun out of that," 
 said the teacher. " He is a poor man and has to work 
 hard. He has a hard enough time. Your father gives 
 you plenty of money. Why not put a dollar into each 
 shoe? That will surprise him more than the stones." 
 
 The boy liked this better, so he put the money into 
 the shoes. Then the two hid in the bushes. 
 
 Soon the man came limping back, and put on one 
 of his shoes. But he took it off in a hurry, for the 
 money hurt his foot. 
 
 When he saw what it was, he said, " Thank God! 
 Now I can buy bread for my children and their sick 
 mother. I will work no more to-day. I will go 
 straight to the store and then home." 
 
 The boy was glad he had not put stones into the 
 poor man's shoes. 
 
 He and his teacher followed the man to his home 
 and found just how poor he was. 
 
 The boy begged his father to help the woodcutter. 
 His father did so by giving the man work at better 
 wages. 
 
 After that, if the boy thought of doing an unkind 
 thing for fun, he always thought of the poor wood- 
 cutter, and tried to do a kindness instead. 
 
 IND. SECOND KEADER 10 
 
146 SECOND EEADEK 
 
 X 
 
 WINTER AND SPRING 
 
 
 wan'dered 
 
 un der stand' them selves' 
 
 pricked 
 
 mut'tered 
 
 blan'ket -erick'ets 
 
 re joiced' 
 
 There was once a child who had no playmates, 
 and he wandered about all day among the flowers 
 and the trees. 
 
 He listened as the leaves rustled and whispered 
 together. By and by he began to understand what 
 they said. 
 
 One day the south wind came blowing over the 
 grass. He saw a beautiful rose. " Oh, fly away with 
 me, beautiful rose," cried the south wind. " I will 
 take you where it is always svimmer." 
 
 But the rose would not go. The south wind tried 
 to tear her from her stem, but he could not. 
 
 " Oh, beautiful rose, come with me. The north 
 wind will come and you will die," he cried once moi'e. 
 
 But the rose did not believe him. She thought 
 the sun would always shiji£. 
 
 A little vine heard all this. It set her to thinking. 
 She spoke to the daisy, and the daisy told the violet. 
 
 They talked it over all day. "Will the north 
 wind come and kill us? " they wondered. 
 
 They thought they would ask the oak tree. He 
 was very old and he would know. 
 
SECOND READER 147 
 
 "No, you will not die," said the oak tree. " You 
 will only sleep and rest while the north wind blows. 
 In the spring the sun will shine. The south wind will 
 come back. You will all wake up again." 
 
 " I don't like that," said the vine. " I don't want 
 to sleep. I want to play with the bees and the birds 
 and the butterflies." 
 
 " I am afraid I shall never wake up," said the 
 violet. 
 
 '• Do not be afraid," said the oak tree. "You will 
 oe sure to wake up. The birds all follow the south 
 wind when the north wind comes. The bees hide 
 themselves in their hives. The butterflies creep into 
 warm places. 
 
 " When the north wind goes away, they all come 
 back to the meadow. They will be here when you 
 wake up." 
 
 "Don't believe a word of that," said a rough old 
 thistle. "When you go to sleep, you will never wake 
 up. That is the last of you," 
 
 The child heard all this, and he wondered which 
 was true. 
 
 It was a long, long summer. It seemed as if it 
 would never end. Birds sang. Grasshoppers and 
 crickets romped in the grass. The rose bloomed and 
 bloomed. She grew more beautiful every day. 
 
148 
 
 SECOND BEADER 
 
 One day a great wind came out of tlie north. 
 Away to their homes hurried the humblebees and 
 crickets. 
 
 Whirr, whirr! How cold the north wind was. 
 The south wind flew far away. "*" — — 
 
 " Now we shall all die, and that will be the end of 
 us," said the cross old thistle. 
 
 "No, no," said the old oak tree. "We are all 
 going to sleep." 
 
 The flowers and the vine tried to keep awake, but 
 they could not. They were soon fast asleep. 
 
SECOND READER 149 
 
 The old oak tree spread his leaves over them. 
 Last of all he, too, fell asleep. 
 
 Then the child saw the storm king come riding 
 over the tields and the forests and the town. 
 
 Snow fell everywhere. The north wind made sad 
 music in the chimneys. 
 
 The storm king sent the brook to bed and pnt a 
 cover of ice over him. He spread a snow blanket 
 over the sleeping flowers. They all lay quiet. Only 
 the old thistle seemed to have bad dreams. He 
 tossed about and muttered in his sleep. 
 
 The child thought winter would never end. He 
 thought the flowers Avould never wake. 
 
 But at last spring came. Sunshine danced every- 
 where. "Wake up, wake up, everybody," called the 
 sunbeams. 
 
 The brook heard first. He threw off his cover. He 
 leaped out over his banks and ran all over the meadow. 
 
 Tlien a bluebird came from the south. " Wake 
 up," he cried to the violet. " It is spring." 
 
 The violet heard him and came forth in her purple 
 dress. Then out came the daisy in white and gold. 
 Last came the little vine in dainty green. 
 
 " I had bad dreams." said the old thistle. " I feel 
 verv bad. I wish I had never waked up." Then he 
 pricked everybody he could reach. 
 
150 SECOND EEADBB 
 
 "You knew, old oak tree," said the flowers. "We 
 feel mucli better after our sleep. Now we will always 
 be happy." 
 
 The child saw and heard all these things. He 
 rejoiced in the sunshine and the flowers and was 
 
 happy too. —Eugene Field. 
 
 And when Spring returned, she said, 
 "They were sleeping and not dead." 
 
 — Caet. 
 
 For, lo, the winter is past, 
 
 The rain is over and gone ; 
 
 The flowers appear on the earth ; 
 
 The time of the singing of birds is come, 
 
 And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 
 
 — Bible. 
 
 
 PICCOLA 
 
 
 nar'roio 
 
 hall 
 
 lone'ly 
 
 gen'tle man 
 
 rag'ged 
 
 leave 
 
 swal'loto 
 
 A mer'i can 
 
 preg'ent 
 
 be longed' 
 
 stock'ing§ 
 
 re mem'bered 
 
 doz'en 
 
 man'ger 
 
 snr priced' 
 
 care'ful ly 
 
 Piccola lived in a country where the sun shines 
 every day. 
 
 She had no father and no brother or sister. She 
 and her mother lived alone in a little old house on a 
 dark, narrow street. 
 
SECOND READER 151 
 
 They were very poor. Piccola's mother was away 
 nearly every day, washing clothes to get money for her 
 little girl and herself. So you see the little girl was 
 alone much of the time. 
 
 She had no playthings but a heap of stones and an 
 old, ragged doll. Her mother had found the doll in the 
 street one day and brought it home to her little girl. 
 Piccola built playhouses of the stones for the doll and 
 herself. 
 
 At the back of the yard was a high stone wall. 
 One day Piccola found a hole in it and looked through. 
 On the other side there wa.s a beautiful garden. 
 
 When she stood on a stone and put her face to the 
 hole, she could see the flowers and smell them, too. 
 
 She often looked through, but she never saw any 
 one. The garden belonged to an old gentleman who 
 did not care for flowers. 
 
 One day her mother told her that the old gentle- 
 man had gone away. 
 
 The house was soon rented to an American lady 
 who was ill. She had come to this warm, sunny 
 country to get well. 
 
 The first time Piccola looked through the hole in 
 the wall she saw a half-dozen children. They did 
 nothing all day but sing and play in the garden, and 
 Piccola did nothing but watch them. 
 
152 SECOND READER 
 
 Piccola kept so still that the children did not see 
 her for a long time. One day their kitten ran away 
 and they came close to the wall, and saw the little 
 girl's black eyes looking through the hole. 
 
 She did not speak to them, and they did not know 
 what to say to her. 
 
 The next day she was at the hole again, and the 
 largest girl went and tried to talk to her. Piccola 
 could not understand the little girl, and the little girl 
 could not understand her, for Piccola could not speak 
 English. But they both smiled and felt like friends. 
 
 After that the children put their playthings 
 through the hole for Piccola. Sometimes they gave 
 her candy. 
 
 One day the father of the children came, and one 
 of the little boys asked him to have a gate made in 
 the wall. The father was sorry for the lonely little 
 girl, and he had the gate made. So every day Piccola 
 played in the garden with the children. 
 
 By and by the little American children began to 
 talk about Christmas. They all asked Piccola what 
 she thought she would get for a Christmas present. 
 
 "A Christmas present?" said Piccola. V^h^t is 
 that?" 
 
 Piccola knew what Christmas is. She Ifnew that 
 it is the Christ Child's birthday. She had been to 
 
SECOND READER 153 
 
 church on that day. She had heard the beautiful 
 music, and had seen the little wax baby lying in a 
 manger with cows and sheep sleeping around it. 
 
 She knew that very well, but she had never heard 
 of a Christmas present. 
 
 The children all talked at once. They told her 
 about Santa Claus and his reindeer. "Every Christ- 
 ni^," said they, "he comes down the chimney and 
 fills the stockings of all good children." 
 
 The children promised to send a letter to ask 
 Santa Claus to bring Piccola a Christmas present. 
 
 Piccola went home and told her mother. Her 
 mother seemed to think Santa Claus might not come, 
 but Piccola was sure the letter would bring him. 
 
 On Christmas Eve, Piccola's mother came home late 
 from work. As soon as supper was over it was bed 
 time. Then the poor little girl remembered that she had 
 no stockings. Her mother was too poor to buy stock- 
 ings, and she and Piccola had to wear their wooden 
 shoes without any. 
 
 Piccola thought Santa Claus would not leave a 
 present if he did not find the stocking. Tears began 
 to run down her cheeks. 
 
 Just then her mother called, "Come, Piccola, come 
 to bed." The little girl stopped crying and set her 
 little wooden shoe in the h replace. 
 
154 
 
 SECOND READEE 
 
 " Santa Claus will know what it is for," she said 
 to herself. "He will know I have no stockings.'' 
 
 Then she ran off to bed and Avent to sleep at once. 
 
 The Sim was shining next morning when Piccola 
 woke up. With one jump she was out of bed and 
 running to the chimney. 
 
 The wooden shoe had something in it. You would 
 never guess what it was. It was a little chimney 
 swallow. 
 
 Piccola called, " Look, look, mother, what Santa 
 Claus has brought me ! " 
 
 Piccola was so happy that she kissed her mother 
 and kissed the bird, and threw a kiss up the chim- 
 ney to Santa Claus. 
 
SECOND READER 155 
 
 The little bird could not fly. It could only hop 
 about the room. Piccola's mother looked at it and 
 found that its wing was hurt. She bound its wing up 
 carefully and it did not seem to be in pain. 
 
 Piccola was a happy little girl when she took her 
 present to show to the children in the garden. 
 
 They were as much pleased as she was. They 
 had beautiful dolls and books and a train of cars, but 
 they had nothing that was alive. 
 
 When Piccola went home Avith her bird slie had a 
 big box of candy, and there wasn't a happier child 
 anywhere in the world. 
 
 Very soon the little swalloAv was well. It became 
 so tame that it would eat out of Piccola's hand. 
 
 SEVEN TIMES ONE 
 
 There's no dew left on the daisies and clover, 
 
 There's no rain left in heaven ; 
 I've said my " seven times " over and over, 
 
 Seven times one are seven. 
 
 I am old, so old, I can write a letter ; 
 
 My birthday lessons are done ; 
 The lambs play ahvays, they know no better ; 
 
 They are only one times one. 
 
156 SECOND READER 
 
 moon ! in the night I have seen you sailing, 
 And shining so round and low ; 
 
 You were bright! ah, bright! but your light is 
 failing — 
 You are nothing now but a bow. 
 
 You moon, have you done something wrong in heaven, 
 That God has hidden your face ? 
 
 1 hope if you have, you Avill soon be forgiven, 
 
 And shine again in your place. 
 
 velvet bee, you're a dusty fellow. 
 
 You've powdered your legs with gold ! 
 brave marsh mary-buds, rich and yellow, 
 
 Give me your money to hold. 
 
 columbine, open your folded wrapper. 
 Where two tAvin turtledoves dwell ! 
 
 cuckoopint, toll me the purple clapper 
 That hangs in your clear green bell. 
 
 And show me your nest with the young ones in it, 
 I will not steal it aAvay ; 
 
 1 am old ! You may trust me, linnet, linnet, 
 
 I am seven times one to-day. 
 
 — Jean IxGELOw. 
 
NOTES 
 
 By the time the Second Reader is readied no word can be said 
 to be wholly new, because of the acquaintance the children have 
 with the letters as representing the elementary sounds. Therefore, 
 in the Second Reader, only the more difficult words are placed above 
 the lessons ; and these should be used both in class work and in 
 study. By this time the children are well able to study the reading, 
 and they get great pleasure and profit from doing so if they are 
 taught how to study and encouraged and required to do so. 
 
 When a child has reached the Second Reader he should have 
 gained considerable independence in making out words by sound. 
 The phonic work should receive such attention during the second 
 year as will enable the children to master the process and use it 
 unconsciously. No child is prepared for third grade work unless 
 this is true of him. 
 
 At the end of the second 3'ear a child should have a thorough 
 mastery of the sounds as represented by the following letters and 
 groups of letters : — 
 
 s t p h f 
 
 a i e 6 II 
 
 1 m r n € k 
 
 b d g 
 
 a e i u (u is comparatively little used) 
 
 00 ee 00 § ch w }' sh th th ck 
 
 a ng ing y ii 6 a u wh 
 
 c ou o\v 6)^ j g y ei" or ur ir u o 
 
 oi oy v X z q 
 
 ea ai igh. 
 
 157 
 
158 SECOND READER 
 
 Other combinations may prove useful, and, if so, they should 
 be added to the list. This work is a means to an end, but a very 
 eii&cient means to a very good end. The object in view is to teach 
 reading, not diacritical marks ; so teach whatever will be of im- 
 mediate use to the children and omit everything that will not be 
 ;of immediate use. 
 
 HIAWATHA 
 
 Read the selections from " Hiawatha " to the class several times 
 before requiring the pupils to read them as lessons. This will give 
 the children the thought as a whole, and prepare them for a more 
 minute study. Encourage the children to commit these selections to 
 memory. Read other portions of the poem to them. Both the 
 rhytlim and the subject are fascinating to children. 
 
 THE GOLDEN TOUCH 
 
 This selection is taken from Hawthorne's '-Wonder Book." 
 Before leaving it the children should know in what book it is found, 
 and that the book may be bought for a small amount. 
 
 THE BROWN BABY 
 
 This story is found in " The Seven Little Sisters." by Jane 
 Andrews. The book contains similar stories of six other little girls 
 of different races. 
 
 THE HUMMING BIRD AND THE BUTTERFLY 
 
 There is a suggestion here for nature work, which may be carried 
 out very easily. 
 
SECOND READER 
 
 WHAT FRED AND HIS FATHER FOUND IN THE 1 
 
 The children shouki be led by this lesson to look for cc. 
 which may be found in the trees after the leaves have fallen. bTZ 
 quently the practiced eye sees a cocoon in what, to the ordinary 
 glance, appears to be merely a dead leaf or cluster of leaves. The 
 cocoons of the cecropia and American silkworm are to be found in 
 the maple and sometimes in other trees, and the polyphemia in the 
 lilac bush. In many localities in this state these three varieties are 
 very plentiful, but protective coloring renders them practically in- 
 visible to the uninitiated. 
 
 The moths are likely to emerge from these cocoons during the 
 spring months if they are kept in the school room. They may 
 thus be observed in school, because they do not eat while in the 
 perfect stage, and there is, therefore, no cruelty in having them at 
 this time of year. If kept in a cool place or left out of doors the 
 moths appear in August. During September caterpillars may be 
 found and the process of spinning the cocoon observed. 
 
 WHAT BROKE THE CHINA PITCHER 
 
 Read this lesson in very cold weather. Make the experimen 
 school by means of a bottle filled with water and set out on 
 window ledge over night. This lesson has a moral which should 
 brought out also. 
 
 THE WISE FAIRY 
 
 Read this poem to the class as a preparation for their study of it. 
 Be sure to read it well. Encourage the children to commit it to 
 memory. Do not require this, however. It is better to have no 
 unpleasant associations connected with such an exercise. 
 
 PANDORA 
 The original is found in Hawthorne's "Wonder Book." 
 
158 SECOND BKADEE 
 
 , ^^'^^ PUSSY WILLOW'S WELCOME 
 
 be added 
 
 etficier j^ jem will be read with interest in the spring when the 
 pusoj .allows appear. Children are very fond of these flowers. 
 
 A GOOD JOKE 
 
 April fool's day is sometimes productive of unkindness. There 
 is a good suggestion in this story. 
 
'"^ife:''-<felN^^:. 
 
 «■ ' 'i-'; „>: t/fig' 1