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diff --git a/old/sthol10.txt b/old/sthol10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a8e4f58 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/sthol10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14673 @@ +****The Project Gutenberg Etext of Good Stories for Holidays**** +Stories for holidays the year round. [Biased to United States] + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +GOOD STORIES +FOR GREAT HOLIDAYS + +ARRANGED FOR +STORY-TELLING AND READING ALOUD +AND FOR +THE CHILDREN'S OWN READING + +BY +FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT + + +November, 1995 [Etext #359] + + +****The Project Gutenberg Etext of Good Stories for Holidays**** +*****This file should be named sthol10.txt or sthol10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, sthol11.txt. +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, sthol10a.txt. + + +We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance +of the official release dates, for time for better editing. + +Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + +Scanned with OmniPage Professional OCR software +donated by Caere Corporation, 1-800-535-7226. +Contact Mike Lough <Mikel@caere.com> + + + +GOOD STORIES +FOR GREAT HOLIDAYS + +ARRANGED FOR +STORY-TELLING AND READING ALOUD +AND FOR +THE CHILDREN'S OWN READING + +BY +FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT + +Index according to reading level is appended. + + + +TO THE STORY-TELLER + +This volume, though intended also for the children's +own reading and for reading aloud, is especially +planned for story-telling. The latter is +a delightful way of arousing a gladsome holiday +spirit, and of showing the inner meanings of +different holidays. As stories used for this purpose +are scattered through many volumes, and as they +are not always in the concrete form required for +story-telling, I have endeavored to bring together +myths, legends, tales, and historical stories +suitable to holiday occasions. + +There are here collected one hundred and +twenty stories for seventeen holidays--stories +grave, gay, humorous, or fanciful; also some that +are spiritual in feeling, and others that give the +delicious thrill of horror so craved by boys and +girls at Halloween time. The range of selection +is wide, and touches all sides of wholesome boy +and girl nature, and the tales have the power to +arouse an appropriate holiday spirit. + +As far as possible the stories are presented in +their original form. When, however, they are too +long for inclusion, or too loose in structure for +story-telling purposes, they are adapted. + +Adapted stories are of two sorts. Condensed: +in which case a piece of literature is shortened, +scarcely any changes being made in the original +language. Rewritten: here the plot, imagery, +language, and style of the original are retained as +far as possible, while the whole is moulded into +form suitable for story-telling. Some few stories +are built up on a slight framework of original +matter. + +Thus it may be seen that the tales in this +volume have not been reduced to the necessarily +limited vocabulary and uniform style of one editor, +but that they are varied in treatment and +language, and are the products of many minds. + +A glance at the table of contents will show that +not only have selections been made from modern +authors and from the folklore of different races, +but that some quaint old literary sources have +been drawn on. Among the men and books contributing +to these pages are the Gesta Romanorum, +Il Libro d'Oro, Xenophon, Ovid, Lucian, the +Venerable Bede, William of Malmesbury. John of +Hildesheim, William Caxton, and the more modern +Washington Irving, Hugh Miller, Charles Dickens, +and Henry Cabot Lodge; also those immortals, +Hans Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Horace E. +Scudder, and others. + +The stories are arranged to meet the needs of +story-telling in the graded schools. Reading- +lists, showing where to find additional material +for story-telling and collateral reading, are added. +Grades in which the recommended stories are +useful are indicated. + +The number of selections in the volume, as +well as the references to other books, is limited +by the amount and character of available material. +For instance, there is little to be found for +Saint Valentine's Day, while there is an +overwhelming abundance of fine stories for the +Christmas season. Stories like Dickens's ``Christmas +Carol,'' Ouida's ``Dog of Flanders,'' and +Hawthorne's tales, which are too long for inclusion +and would lose their literary beauty if +condensed, are referred to in the lists. Volumes +containing these stories may be procured at the +public library. + +A subject index is appended. This indicates +the ethical, historical, and other subject-matter +of interest to the teacher, thus making the volume +serviceable for other occasions besides holidays. + +In learning her tale the story-teller is advised +not to commit it to memory. Such a method is +apt to produce a wooden or glib manner of presentation. +It is better for her to read the story +over and over again until its plot, imagery, style, +and vocabulary become her own, and then to retell +it, as Miss Bryant says, ``simply, vitally, joyously.'' + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +NEW YEAR'S DAY (January 1) + +THE FAIRY'S NEW YEAR GIFT: Emilie Poulsson, In the Child's World + +THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Hans Christian Andersen, Stories and Tales + +THE TWELVE MONTHS: Alexander Chodsvko, Slav Fairy Tales + +THE MAIL-COACH PASSENGERS: Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales + +LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY (February 10) + +HE RESCUES THE BIRDS: Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln + +LINCOLN AND THE LITTLE GIRL: Charles W. Moores, +Life of Abraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls + +TRAINING FOR THE PRESIDENCY: Orison Swett Matden, Winning Out + +WHY LINCOLN WAS CALLED ``HONEST ABE'': Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln + +A STRANGER AT FIVE-POINTS: Adapted + +A SOLOMON COME TO JUDGMENT: Charles W. Moores, +Life of Abraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls + +GEORGE PICKETT'S FRIEND: Charles W. Moores, +Life of Abraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls + +LINCOLN THE LAWYER: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy + +THE COURAGE OF HIS CONVICTIONS: Adapted + +MR. LINCOLN AND THE BIBLE: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy + +HIS SPRINGFIELD FAREWELL ADDRESS [Lincoln] + +SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY (February 14) + +SAINT VALENTINE + +SAINT VALENTINE: Millicent Olmsted + +A GIRL'S VALENTINE CHARM: The Connoisseur, 1775 + +MR. PEPYS HIS VALENTINE: Samuel Pepys, Diary + +CUPID AND PSYCHE: Josephine Preston Peabody, +Old Greek Folk Stories + +WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY (February 22) + +THREE OLD TALES: M. L. Weems, Life of +George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes + +YOUNG GEORGE AND THE COLT: Horace E. Scudder, + George Washington + +WASHINGTON THE ATHLETE: Albert F. Blaisdell and Francis R. Ball, +Hero Stories from American History + +WASHINGTON'S MODESTY: Henry Cabot Lodge, George Washington + +WASHINGTON AT YORKTOWN: Henry Cabot lodge, George Washington + +RESURRECTION DAY (Easter Sunday) (March or April) + +A LESSON OF FAITH: Mrs. Alfred Gatty, Parables from Nature + +A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR: Charles Dickens + +THE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLD: +Hans Christian Andersen, Stories and Tales + +MAY DAY (May 1) +THE SNOWDROP: Hans Christian Andersen; +Adapted by Bailey and Lewis + +THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY BROTHERS: From the German + + +THE WATER DROP: Friedrich Wilhelm Carove, +Story without an End, translated by Sarah Austin + +THE SPRING BEAUTY: Henry R. Schoolcraft, The Myth of Hiawatha + +THE FAIRY TULIPS: English Folk-Tale + +THE STREAM THAT RAN AWAY: Mary Austin, The Basket Woman + +THE ELVES: Harriet Mazwell Converse, +Myths and legends of the New York State Iroquois + +THE CANYON FLOWERS: Ralph Connor, The Sky Pilot + +CLYTIE, THE HELIOTROPE: Ovid, Metamorphoses + +HYACINTHUS: Ovid, Metamorphoses + +ECHO AND NARCISSUS: Ovid, Metamorphoses + +MOTHERS' DAY (Second Sunday in May) + +THE LARK AND ITS YOUNG ONES: P. V. Ramuswami Raju, Indian Fables + +CORNELIA S JEWELS: James Baldwin, Fifty Famous Stories Retold + +QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBERS: Albert F. Blaisdell, +Stories from Enylish History + +THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS: Charles Morris, Historical Tales + +THE WIDOW AND HER THREE SONS + +MEMORIAL DAY (May 30)[1] AND FLAG DAY (June 14) +Confederate Memorial Day is celebrated in some States on +April 26 and in others on May 10. + +BETSY ROSS AND THE FLAG: Harry Pringle Ford + +THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER: Eva March Tappan, +Hero Stories from American History + +THE LITTLE DRUMMER-BOY: Aloert Bushnell Hart, +The Romance of the Civil War + +A FLAG INCIDENT: M. M. Thomas, Captain Phil + +TWO HERO-STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR: Ben La Bree, +Camp Fires of the Confederacy + +THE YOUNG SENTINEL: Z. A. Mudge, The Forest Boy + +THE COLONEL OF THE ZOUAVES: Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln + +GENERAL SCOTT AND THE STARS AND STRIPES: E. D. Townsend, +Anecdotes of the Civil War + +lNDEPENDENCE DAY (July 4) + +THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: Washington Irving, Life of Washington + +THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: +H. A. Guerber, The Story of the Thirteen Colonies + +A BRAVE GIRL: James Johonnot, Stories of Heroic Deeds + +THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY: John Andrews, Letter to a friend written in 1773 + +A GUNPOWDER STORY: John Esten Cooke, Stories of the Old Dominion + +THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA: Washington Irving, Life of Washington + +WASHINGTON AND THE COWARDS: Washington Irving, Life of Washington + +LABOR DAY (First Monday in September) + +THE SMITHY: P. V. Ramaswami Raju, Indian Fables + +THE NAIL: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales + +THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER: Horace E. Scudder, +Book of Fables and Folk Stories + +THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE: Juliana Horatia Ewing, +Old Fashioned Fairy Tales + +HOFUS THE STONE CUTTER, A JAPANESE LEGEND: +The Riserside Third Reader + +ARACHNE: Josephine Preston Peabody, Old Greek Folk Stories + + +THE METAL KING: A German Folk-Tale + +THE CHOICE OF HERCULES: Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates + +THE SPEAKING STATUE: Gesta Romanorum + +THE CHAMPION STONE CUTTER: Hugh Miller + +BILL BROWN'S TEST: Cleveland Moffett, Careers of Danger and Daring + +COLUMBUS DAY (October 12) + +COLUMBUS AND THE EGG: James Baldwin, Thirty More Famous Stories Retold + +COLUMBUS AT LA RABIDA: Washington Irving, Life of Christopher Columbus + +THE MUTINY: A. de Lamartine, Life of Columbus + +THE FIRST LANDING OF COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD: +Washington Irving, Life of Christopher Columbus + +HALLOWEEN (October 31) + +THE OLD WITCH: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales + +SHIPPEITARO: Mary F. Nixon-Roulet, Japanese Folk Stories and Fairy Tales + +HANSEL AND GRETHEL: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales + +BURG HILL'S ON FIRE: Elizabeth W. Grierson, +Children's Book of Celtic Stories + +THE KING OF THE CATS: Ernest Rhys, Fairy-Gold + +THE STRANGE VISITOR: Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales + +THE BENEVOLENT GOBLIN: Gesta Romanorum + +THE PHANTOM KNIGHT OF THE VANDAL CAMP: Gesta Romanorum + +THANKSGIVING DAY (Last Thursday in November) + +THE FIRST HARVEST-HOME IN PLYMOUTH: W. De Loss Lore, Jr., +The Fast and Thanksgiving Days of New England + +THE MASTER OF THE HARVEST: Mrs. Alfred Gatty, Parables from Nature + +SAINT CUTHBERT'S EAGLE: The Venerable Bede, +Life and Miracles of Saint Cuthbert + +THE EARS OF WHEAT: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales + +HOW INDIAN CORN CAME INTO THE WORLD: Henry R. Schoolcraft, +The Myth of Hiawatha + +THE NUTCRACKER DWARF: Count Franz Pocci, Fur Frohliche Kinder + +THE PUMPKIN PIRATES, A TALE FROM LUCIAN: Alfred J. Church, The Greek Gulliver + +THE SPIRIT OF THE CORN: Harriet Mazwell Converse, + Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois + +THE HORN OF PLENTY: Ovid, Metamorphoses + +CHRISTMAS DAY (December 25) + +LITTLE PICCOLA: Celia Thazter, Stories and Poems for Children + +THE STRANGER CHILD, A LEGEND: Count Franz Pocci, Fur Frohliche Kinder + +SAINT CHRISTOPHER: William Caxton, Golden Legend + +THE CHRISTMAS ROSE, AN OLD LEGEND: Lizzie Deas, Flower Favourites + +THE WOODEN SHOES OF LITTLE WOLFF: Francois Coppee + +THE PINE TREE: Hans Christian Andersen, Wonder Stories + +THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO: Frances Browne, Granny's Wonderful Chair + +THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY OF STRASBURG, A GERMAN FOLK-TALE: +J. Stirling Coyne, Illustrated London News + +THE THREE PURSES, A LEGEND: William S. Walsh, Story of Santa Klaus + +THE THUNDER OAK, A SCANDINAVIAN LEGEND: William S. Walsh and Others + +THE CHRISTMAS THORN OF GLASTONBURY, A LEGEND OF ANCIENT BRITAIN: +William of Malmesbury and Others + +THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE, A LEGEND OF THE MIDDLE AGES: +John of Hildesheim, Modernized by H. S. Morris + +ARBOR DAY + +THE LITTLE TREE THAT LONGED FOR OTHER LEAVES: Friedrieh Ruckert + +WHY THE EVERGREEN TREES NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES: +Florence Holbrook, Book of Nature Myths + +WHY THE ASPEN QUIVERS: Old legend + +THE WONDER TREE: Friedrich Adolph Krummacher, Parables + +THE PROUD OAK TREE: Old Fable + +BAUCIS AND PHILEMON: H. P. Maskell, Francis Storr, + Half-a-Hundred Hero Tales + +THE UNFRUITFUL TREE: Friedrich Adolph Krummacher, Parables + +THE DRYAD OF THE OLD OAK: James Russell Lowell, Rhoecus (a poem) + +DAPHNE: OVID, Metamorphoses BIRD DAY + +THE OLD WOMAN WHO BECAME A WOODPECKER: +Phoebe Cary, A Legend of the Northland (poem) + +THE BOY WHO BECAME A ROBIN: Henry R. Schoolcraft, +The Myth of Hiawatha + +THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW: A. B. Mitford, Tales of Old Japan + +THE QUAILS, A LEGEND OF THE JATAKA: Riverside Fourth Reader + +THE MAGPIE'S NEST: Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales + +THE GREEDY GEESE: Il Libro d'Oro + +THE KING OF THE BIRDS: The Brothers Grimm, German Household Tales + +THE DOVE WHO SPOKE TRUTH: Abbie Farwell Brown, The Curious Book of Birds + +THE BUSY BLUE JAY: Olive Thorne Miller, True Bird Stories + +BABES IN THE WOODS: John Burroughs, Bird Stories from Burroughs + +THE PRIDE OF THE REGIMENT: Harry M. Rieffer, +The Recollections of a Drummer Boy + +THE MOTHER MURRE: Dallas Lore Sharp, Summer + +REFERENCE LISTS FOR STORY-TELLING AND COLLATERAL READING + + + + +GOOD STORIES +FOR GREAT HOLIDAYS + +THE FAIRY'S NEW YEAR GIFT + +BY EMILIE POULSSON (ADAPTED) + +Two little boys were at play one day when a +Fairy suddenly appeared before them and said: ``I +have been sent to give you New Year presents.'' + +She handed to each child a package, and in an +instant was gone. + +Carl and Philip opened the packages and found +in them two beautiful books, with pages as pure +and white as the snow when it first falls. + +Many months passed and the Fairy came again +to the boys. ``I have brought you each another +book?'' said she, ``and will take the first ones back +to Father Time who sent them to you.'' + +``May I not keep mine a little longer?'' asked +Philip. ``I have hardly thought about it lately. +I'd like to paint something on the last leaf that +lies open.'' + +``No,'' said the Fairy; ``I must take it just as it +is.'' + +``I wish that I could look through mine just +once,'' said Carl; ``I have only seen one page at a +time, for when the leaf turns over it sticks fast, +and I can never open the book at more than one +place each day.'' + +``You shall look at your book,'' said the Fairy, +``and Philip, at his.'' And she lit for them two +little silver lamps, by the light of which they saw +the pages as she turned them. + +The boys looked in wonder. Could it be that +these were the same fair books she had given +them a year ago? Where were the clean, white +pages, as pure and beautiful as the snow when it +first falls? Here was a page with ugly, black spots +and scratches upon it; while the very next page +showed a lovely little picture. Some pages were +decorated with gold and silver and gorgeous +colors, others with beautiful flowers, and still +others with a rainbow of softest, most delicate +brightness. Yet even on the most beautiful of the +pages there were ugly blots and scratches. + +Carl and Philip looked up at the Fairy at last. + +``Who did this?'' they asked. ``Every page was +white and fair as we opened to it; yet now there is +not a single blank place in the whole book!'' + +``Shall I explain some of the pictures to you?'' +said the Fairy, smiling at the two little boys. + +``See, Philip, the spray of roses blossomed on this +page when you let the baby have your playthings; +and this pretty bird, that looks as if it were singing +with all its might, would never have been on +this page if you had not tried to be kind and +pleasant the other day, instead of quarreling.'' + +``But what makes this blot?'' asked Philip. + +``That,'' said the Fairy sadly; ``that came when +you told an untruth one day, and this when you +did not mind mamma. All these blots and +scratches that look so ugly, both in your book +and in Carl's, were made when you were naughty. +Each pretty thing in your books came on its page +when you were good.'' + +``Oh, if we could only have the books again!'' +said Carl and Philip. + +``That cannot be,'' said the Fairy. ``See! they +are dated for this year, and they must now go back +into Father Time's bookcase, but I have brought +you each a new one. Perhaps you can make these +more beautiful than the others.'' + +So saying, she vanished, and the boys were left +alone, but each held in his hand a new book open +at the first page. + +And on the back of this book was written in +letters of gold, ``For the New Year.'' + + + +THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (TRANSLATED) + +It was very, very cold; it snowed and it grew +dark; it was the last evening of the year, New +Year's Eve. In the cold and dark a poor little +girl, with bare head and bare feet, was walking +through the streets. When she left her own house +she certainly had had slippers on; but what could +they do? They were very big slippers, and her +mother had used them till then, so big were they. +The little maid lost them as she slipped across the +road, where two carriages were rattling by terribly +fast. One slipper was not to be found again, and +a boy ran away with the other. He said he could +use it for a cradle when he had children of his own. + +So now the little girl went with her little naked +feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. +In an old apron she carried a number of matches, +and a bundle of them in her hand. No one had +bought anything of her all day; no one had given +her a copper. Hungry and cold she went, and +drew herself together, poor little thing! The +snowflakes fell on her long yellow hair, which +curled prettily over her neck; but she did not +think of that now. In all the windows lights were +shining, and there was a glorious smell of roast +goose out there in the street; it was no doubt New +Year's Eve. Yes, she thought of that! + +In a corner formed by two houses, one of which +was a little farther from the street than the other, +she sat down and crept close. She had drawn up +her little feet, but she was still colder, and she did +not dare to go home, for she had sold no matches, +and she had not a single cent; her father would +beat her; and besides, it was cold at home, for +they had nothing over the them but a roof through +which the wind whistled, though straw and rags +stopped the largest holes. + +Her small hands were quite numb with the cold. +Ah! a little match might do her good if she only +dared draw one from the bundle, and strike it +against the wall, and warm her fingers at it. She +drew one out. R-r-atch! how it spluttered and +burned! It was a warm bright flame, like a little +candle, when she held her hands over it; it was a +wonderful little light! It really seemed to the +little girl as if she sat before a great polished +stove, with bright brass feet and a brass cover. +The fire burned so nicely; it warmed her so well, +--the little girl was just putting out her feet to +warm these, too,--when out went the flame; the +stove was gone;--she sat with only the end of the +burned match in her hand. + +She struck another; it burned; it gave a light; +and where it shone on the wall, the wall became +thin like a veil, and she could see through it into +the room where a table stood, spread with a white +cloth, and with china on it; and the roast goose +smoked gloriously, stuffed with apples and dried +plums. And what was still more splendid to behold, +the goose hopped down from the dish, and +waddled along the floor, with a knife and fork in +its breast; straight to the little girl he came. Then +the match went out, and only the thick, damp, +cold wall was before her. + +She lighted another. Then she was sitting +under a beautiful Christmas tree; it was greater and +finer than the one she had seen through the glass +door at the rich merchant's. Thousands of candles +burned upon the green branches, and colored pictures +like those in the shop windows looked down +upon them. The little girl stretched forth both +hands toward them; then the match went out. +The Christmas lights went higher and higher. +She saw that now they were stars in the sky: one +of them fell and made a long line of fire. + +``Now some one is dying,'' said the little girl, +for her old grandmother, the only person who had +been good to her, but who was now dead, had said: +``When a star falls a soul mounts up to God.'' + +She rubbed another match against the wall; it +became bright again, and in the light there stood +the old grandmother clear and shining, mild and +lovely. + +``Grandmother!'' cried the child. ``Oh, take +me with you! I know you will go when the match +is burned out. You will go away like the warm +stove, the nice roast goose, and the great glorious +Christmas tree!'' + +And she hastily rubbed the whole bundle of +matches, for she wished to hold her grandmother +fast. And the matches burned with such a glow +that it became brighter than in the middle of the +day; grandmother had never been so large or so +beautiful. She took the little girl up in her arms, +and both flew in the light and the joy so high, so +high! and up there was no cold, nor hunger, nor +care--they were with God. + +But in the corner by the house sat the little +girl, with red cheeks and smiling mouth, frozen to +death on the last evening of the Old Year. The +New Year's sun rose upon the little body, that sat +there with the matches, of which one bundle was +burned. She wanted to warm herself, the people +said. No one knew what fine things she had seen, +and in what glory she had gone in with her +grandmother to the New Year's Day. + + +THE TWELVE MONTHS + +A SLAV LEGEND + +BY ALEXANDER CHODZKO (ADAPTED) + +There was once a widow who had two daughters, +Helen, her own child by her dead husband, and +Marouckla, his daughter by his first wife. She +loved Helen, but hated the poor orphan because +she was far prettier than her own daughter. + +Marouckla did not think about her good looks, +and could not understand why her stepmother +should be angry at the sight of her. The hardest +work fell to her share. She cleaned out the rooms, +cooked, washed, sewed, spun, wove, brought in +the hay, milked the cow, and all this without any +help. + +Helen, meanwhile, did nothing but dress herself +in her best clothes and go to one amusement after +another. + +But Marouckla never complained. She bore +the scoldings and bad temper of mother and sister +with a smile on her lips, and the patience of a +lamb. But this angelic behavior did not soften +them. They became even more tyrannical and +grumpy, for Marouckla grew daily more beautiful, +while Helen's ugliness increased. So the stepmother +determined to get rid of Marouckla, for +she knew that while she remained, her own daughter +would have no suitors. Hunger, every kind of +privation, abuse, every means was used to make +the girl's life miserable. But in spite of it all +Marouckla grew ever sweeter and more charming. + +One day in the middle of winter Helen wanted +some wood-violets. + +``Listen,'' cried she to Marouckla, ``you must +go up the mountain and find me violets. I want +some to put in my gown. They must be fresh +and sweet-scented-do you hear?'' + +``But, my dear sister, whoever heard of violets +blooming in the snow?'' said the poor orphan. + +``You wretched creature! Do you dare to disobey +me?'' said Helen. ``Not another word. Off +with you! If you do not bring me some violets +from the mountain forest I will kill you.'' + +The stepmother also added her threats to those +of Helen, and with vigorous blows they pushed +Marouckla outside and shut the door upon her. +The weeping girl made her way to the mountain. +The snow lay deep, and there was no trace of any +human being. Long she wandered hither and +thither, and lost herself in the wood. She was +hungry, and shivered with cold, and prayed to die. + +Suddenly she saw a light in the distance, and +climbed toward it till she reached the top of the +mountain. Upon the highest peak burned a large +fire, surrounded by twelve blocks of stone on +which sat twelve strange beings. Of these the +first three had white hair, three were not quite +so old, three were young and handsome, and the +rest still younger. + +There they all sat silently looking at the fire. +They were the Twelve Months of the Year. The +great January was placed higher than the others. +His hair and mustache were white as snow, and in +his hand he held a wand. At first Marouckla was +afraid, but after a while her courage returned, and +drawing near, she said:-- + +``Men of God, may I warm myself at your +fire? I am chilled by the winter cold.'' + +The great January raised his head and answered: +``What brings thee here, my daughter? +What dost thou seek?'' + +``I am looking for violets,'' replied the maiden. + +``This is not the season for violets. Dost thou +not see the snow everywhere?'' said January. + +``I know well, but my sister Helen and my +stepmother have ordered me to bring them violets +from your mountain. If I return without them +they will kill me. I pray you, good shepherds, tell +me where they may be found.'' + +Here the great January arose and went over to +the youngest of the Months, and, placing his wand +in his hand, said:-- + +``Brother March, do thou take the highest place.'' + +March obeyed, at the same time waving his wand +over the fire. Immediately the flames rose toward +the sky, the snow began to melt and the trees and +shrubs to bud. The grass became green, and from +between its blades peeped the pale primrose. It was +spring, and the meadows were blue with violets. + +``Gather them quickly, Marouckla,'' said March. + +Joyfully she hastened to pick the flowers, and +having soon a large bunch she thanked them +and ran home. Helen and the stepmother were +amazed at the sight of the flowers, the scent of +which filled the house. + +``Where did you find them?'' asked Helen. + +``Under the trees on the mountain-side,'' said +Marouckla. + +Helen kept the flowers for herself and her +mother. She did not even thank her stepsister for +the trouble she had taken. The next day she +desired Marouckla to fetch her strawberries. + +``Run,'' said she, ``and fetch me strawberries +from the mountain. They must be very sweet and +ripe.'' + +``But whoever heard of strawberries ripening in +the snow?'' exclaimed Marouckla. + +``Hold your tongue, worm; don't answer me. +If I don't have my strawberries I will kill you,'' +said Helen. + +Then the stepmother pushed Marouckla into +the yard and bolted the door. The unhappy girl +made her way toward the mountain and to the +large fire round which sat the Twelve Months. +The great January occupied the highest place. + +``Men of God, may I warm myself at your fire? +The winter cold chills me,'' said she, drawing near. + +The great January raised his head and asked: +``Why comest thou here? What dost thou seek?'' + +``I am looking for strawberries,'' said she. + +``We are in the midst of winter,'' replied +January, ``strawberries do not grow in the snow.'' + +``I know,'' said the girl sadly, ``but my sister +and stepmother have ordered me to bring them +strawberries. If I do not they will kill me. Pray, +good shepherds, tell me where to find them.'' + +The great January arose, crossed over to the +Month opposite him, and putting the wand in his +hand, said: ``Brother June, do thou take the +highest place.'' + +June obeyed, and as he waved his wand over +the fire the flames leaped toward the sky. Instantly +the snow melted, the earth was covered +with verdure, trees were clothed with leaves, birds +began to sing, and various flowers blossomed in +the forest. It was summer. Under the bushes +masses of star-shaped flowers changed into ripening +strawberries, and instantly they covered the +glade, making it look like a sea of blood. + +``Gather them quickly, Marouckla,'' said June. + +Joyfully she thanked the Months, and having +filled her apron ran happily home. + +Helen and her mother wondered at seeing the +strawberries, which filled the house with their +delicious fragrance. + +``Wherever did you find them?'' asked Helen +crossly. + +``Right up among the mountains. Those from +under the beech trees are not bad,'' answered +Marouckla. + +Helen gave a few to her mother and ate the rest +herself. Not one did she offer to her stepsister. +Being tired of strawberries, on the third day she +took a fancy for some fresh, red apples. + +``Run, Marouckla,'' said she, ``and fetch me +fresh, red apples from the mountain.'' + +``Apples in winter, sister? Why, the trees have +neither leaves nor fruit!'' + +``Idle thing, go this minute,'' said Helen; +``unless you bring back apples we will kill you.'' + +As before, the stepmother seized her roughly +and turned her out of the house. The poor girl +went weeping up the mountain, across the deep +snow, and on toward the fire round which were +the Twelve Months. Motionless they sat there, +and on the highest stone was the great January. + +``Men of God, may I warm myself at your fire? +The winter cold chills me,'' said she, drawing +near. + +The great January raised his head. ``Why comest +thou here? What does thou seek?'' asked he. + +``I am come to look for red apples,'' replied +Marouckla. + +``But this is winter, and not the season for red +apples,'' observed the great January. + +``I know,'' answered the girl, ``but my sister +and stepmother sent me to fetch red apples from +the mountain. If I return without them they will +kill me.'' + +Thereupon the great January arose and went +over to one of the elderly Months, to whom he +handed the wand saying:-- + +``Brother September, do thou take the highest +place.'' + +September moved to the highest stone, and +waved his wand over the fire. There was a flare +of red flames, the snow disappeared, but the fading +leaves which trembled on the trees were sent +by a cold northeast wind in yellow masses to the +glade. Only a few flowers of autumn were visible. +At first Marouckla looked in vain for red apples. +Then she espied a tree which grew at a great +height, and from the branches of this hung the +bright, red fruit. September ordered her to +gather some quickly. The girl was delighted and +shook the tree. First one apple fell, then another. + +``That is enough,'' said September; ``hurry +home.'' + +Thanking the Months she returned joyfully. +Helen and the stepmother wondered at seeing the +fruit. + +``Where did you gather them?'' asked the +stepsister. + +``There are more on the mountain-top,'' +answered Marouckla. + +``Then, why did you not bring more?'' said +Helen angrily. ``You must have eaten them on +your way back, you wicked girl.'' + +``No, dear sister, I have not even tasted them,'' +said Marouckla. ``I shook the tree twice. One +apple fell each time. Some shepherds would not +allow me to shake it again, but told me to return +home.'' + +``Listen, mother,'' said Helen. ``Give me my +cloak. I will fetch some more apples myself. I +shall be able to find the mountain and the tree. +The shepherds may cry `Stop!' but I will not +leave go till I have shaken down all the apples.'' + +In spite of her mother's advice she wrapped +herself in her pelisse, put on a warm hood, and +took the road to the mountain. Snow covered +everything. Helen lost herself and wandered +hither and thither. After a while she saw a light +above her, and, following in its direction, reached +the mountain-top. + +There was the flaming fire, the twelve blocks +of stone, and the Twelve Months. At first she +was frightened and hesitated; then she came +nearer and warmed her hands. She did not ask +permission, nor did she speak one polite word. + +``What hath brought thee here? What dost +thou seek?'' said the great January severely. + +``I am not obliged to tell you, old graybeard. +What business is it of yours?'' she replied +disdainfully, turning her back on the fire and going +toward the forest. + +The great January frowned, and waved his +wand over his head. Instantly the sky became +covered with clouds, the fire went down, snow +fell in large flakes, an icy wind howled round the +mountain. Amid the fury of the storm Helen +stumbled about. The pelisse failed to warm her +benumbed limbs. + +The mother kept on waiting for her. She looked +from the window, she watched from the doorstep, +but her daughter came not. The hours passed +slowly, but Helen did not return. + +``Can it be that the apples have charmed her +from her home?'' thought the mother. Then she +clad herself in hood and pelisse, and went in +search of her daughter. Snow fell in huge masses. +It covered all things. For long she wandered +hither and thither, the icy northeast wind +whistled in the mountain, but no voice answered +her cries. + +Day after day Marouckla worked, and prayed, +and waited, but neither stepmother nor sister +returned. They had been frozen to death on the +mountain. + +The inheritance of a small house, a field, and +a cow fell to Marouckla. In course of time an +honest farmer came to share them with her, and +their lives were happy and peaceful. + + +THE MAIL-COACH PASSENGERS + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (ADAPTED) + +It was bitterly cold. The sky glittered with stars, +and not a breeze stirred. ``Bump,''--an old pot +was thrown at a neighbor's door; and, ``Bang! +Bang!'' went the guns, for they were greeting the +New Year. + +It was New Year's Eve, and the church clock +was striking twelve. ``Tan-ta-ra-ra, tan-ta-ra- +ra!'' sounded the horn, and the mail-coach came +lumbering up. The clumsy vehicle stopped at the +gate of the town; all the places had been taken, +for there were twelve passengers in the coach. + +``Hurrah! Hurrah!'' cried the people in the +town; for in every house the New Year was being +welcomed; and, as the clock struck, they stood +up, the full glasses in their hands, to drink +success to the newcomer. ``A happy New Year,'' +was the cry; ``a pretty wife, plenty of money, and +no sorrow or care!'' + +The wish passed round, and the glasses clashed +together till they rang again; while before the +town-gate the mail-coach stopped with the +twelve strange passengers. And who were these +strangers? Each of them had his passport and +his luggage with him; they even brought presents +for me, and for you, and for all the people in the +town. Who were they? What did they want? +And what did they bring with them? + +``Good-morning!'' they cried to the sentry at +the town-gate. + +``Good-morning,'' replied the sentry, for the +clock had struck twelve. + +``Your name and profession?'' asked the sentry +of the one who alighted first from the carriage. + +``See for yourself in the passport,'' he replied. + +``I am myself!''--and a famous fellow he looked, +arrayed in bearskin and fur boots. ``Come to me +to-morrow, and I will give you a New Year's +present. I throw shillings and pence among the +people. I give balls every night, no less than +thirty-one; indeed, that is the highest number +I can spare for balls. My ships are often frozen +in, but in my offices it is warm and comfortable. +MY NAME IS JANUARY. I am a merchant, and I +generally bring my accounts with me.'' + +Then the second alighted. He seemed a merry +fellow. He was a director of a theater, a manager +of masked balls, and a leader of all the amusements +we can imagine. His luggage consisted of +a great cask. + +``We'll dance the bung out of the cask at +carnival-time,'' said he. ``I'll prepare a merry tune +for you and for myself, too. Unfortunately I +have not long to live,--the shortest time, in fact, +of my whole family,--only twenty-eight days. +Sometimes they pop me in a day extra; but I +trouble myself very little about that. Hurrah!'' + +``You must not shout so,'' said the sentry. + +``Certainly I may shout,'' retorted the man. + +``I'm Prince Carnival, traveling under THE NAME OF FEBRUARY.'' + +The third now got out. He looked the +personification of fasting; but he carried his nose very +high, for he was a weather prophet. In his buttonhole +he wore a little bunch of violets, but they +were very small. + +``MARCH, MARCH!'' the fourth passenger called +after him, slapping him on the shoulder, ``don't +you smell something good? Make haste into the +guard-room, they are feasting in there. I can +smell it already! FORWARD, MASTER MARCH!'' + +But it was not true. The speaker only wanted +to make an APRIL FOOL of him, for with that fun +the fourth stranger generally began his career. He +looked very jovial, and did little work. + +``If the world were only more settled!'' said +he; ``but sometimes I'm obliged to be in a good +humor, and sometimes a bad one. I can laugh or +cry according to circumstances. I have my summer +wardrobe in this box here, but it would be +very foolish to put it on now!'' + +After him a lady stepped out of the coach. SHE +CALLED HERSELF MISS MAY. She wore a summer dress +and overshoes. Her dress was light green, and there +were anemones in her hair. She was so scented +with wild thyme that it made the sentry sneeze. + +``Your health, and God bless you!'' was her +greeting. + +How pretty she was! and such a singer! Not +a theater singer nor a ballad-singer; no, but a +singer of the woods. For she wandered through +the gay, green forest, and had a concert there for +her own amusement. + +``Now comes the young lady,'' said those in the +coach; and out stepped a young dame, delicate, +proud, and pretty. IT WAS MISTRESS JUNE. In her +service people become lazy and fond of sleeping +for hours. She gives a feast on the longest day +of the year, that there may be time for her guests +to partake of the numerous dishes at her table. +Indeed, she keeps her own carriage, but still she +travels by the mail-coach with the rest because +she wishes to show that she is not proud. + +But she was not without a protector; her +younger brother, JULY, was with her. He was a +plump, young fellow, clad in summer garments, +and wearing a straw hat. He had very little +luggage because it was so cumbersome in the +great heat. He had, however, swimming-trousers +with him, which are nothing to carry. + +Then came the mother herself, MADAME AUGUST, +a wholesale dealer in fruit, proprietress of +a large number of fish-ponds, and a land-cultivator. +She was fat and warm, yet she could use +her hands well, and would herself carry out food +to the laborers in the field. After work, came the +recreations, dancing and playing in the greenwood, +and the ``harvest home.'' She was a thorough housewife. + +After her a man stepped out of the coach. He +is a painter, a master of colors, and is NAMED SEPTEMBER. +The forest on his arrival has to change +its colors, and how beautiful are those he chooses! +The woods glow with red, and gold, and brown. +This great master painter can whistle like a +blackbird. There he stood with his color-pot in +his hand, and that was the whole of his luggage. + +A landowner followed, who in the month for +sowing seed attends to his ploughing and is fond +of field sports. SQUIRE OCTOBER brought his dog and +his gun with him, and had nuts in his game-bag. + +``Crack! Crack!'' He had a great deal of luggage, +even a plough. He spoke of farming, but what +he said could scarcely be heard for the coughing +and sneezing of his neighbor. + +It WAS NOVEMBER, who coughed violently as he +got out. He had a cold, but he said he thought +it would leave him when he went out woodcutting, +for he had to supply wood to the whole parish. +He spent his evenings making skates, for he knew, +he said, that in a few weeks they would be needed. + +At length the last passenger made her appearance,-- +OLD MOTHER DECEMBER! The dame was +very aged, but her eyes glistened like two stars. +She carried on her arm a flower-pot, in which a +little fir tree was growing. ``This tree I shall +guard and cherish,'' she said, ``that it may grow +large by Christmas Eve, and reach from the floor +to the ceiling, to be adorned with lighted candles, +golden apples, and toys. I shall sit by the fireplace, +and bring a story-book out of my pocket, +and read aloud to all the little children. Then the +toys on the tree will become alive, and the little +waxen Angel at the top will spread out his wings +of gold leaf, and fly down from his green perch. +He will kiss every child in the room, yes, and all +the little children who stand out in the street +singing a carol about the `Star of Bethlehem.' '' + +``Well, now the coach may drive away,'' said +the sentry; ``we will keep all the twelve months +here with us.'' + +``First let the twelve come to me,'' said the +Captain on duty, ``one after another. The passports +I will keep here, each of them for one +month. When that has passed, I shall write the +behavior of each stranger on his passport. MR. JANUARY, +have the goodness to come here.'' + +And MR. JANUARY stepped forward. + +When a year has passed, I think I shall be able +to tell you what the twelve passengers have +brought to you, to me, and to all of us. Just now +I do not know, and probably even they do not +know themselves, for we live in strange times. + + + +LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY + +(FEBRUARY 12) + +HE RESCUES THE BIRDS + +BY NOAH BROOKS (ADAPTED) + +Once, while riding through the country with +some other lawyers, Lincoln was missed from the +party, and was seen loitering near a thicket of +wild plum trees where the men had stopped a +short time before to water their horses. + +``Where is Lincoln?'' asked one of the lawyers. + +``When I saw him last,'' answered another, +``he had caught two young birds that the wind +had blown out of their nest, and was hunting for +the nest to put them back again.'' + +As Lincoln joined them, the lawyers rallied +him on his tender-heartedness, and he said:-- + +``I could not have slept unless I had restored +those little birds to their mother.'' + + +LINCOLN AND THE LITTLE GIRL + +BY CHARLES W. MOORES + +In the old days, when Lincoln was one of the +leading lawyers of the State, he noticed a little +girl of ten who stood beside a trunk in front of her +home crying bitterly. He stopped to learn what +was wrong, and was told that she was about to +miss a long-promised visit to Decatur because the +wagon had not come for her. + +``You needn't let that trouble you,'' was his +cheering reply. ``Just come along with me and we +shall make it all right.'' + +Lifting the trunk upon his shoulder, and taking +the little girl by the hand, he went through the +streets of Springfield, a half-mile to the railway +station, put her and her trunk on the train, and +sent her away with a happiness in her heart that +is still there. + + +TRAINING FOR THE PRESIDENCY + +BY ORISON SWETT MARDEN + +``I meant to take good care of your book, Mr. +Crawford,'' said the boy, ``but I've damaged it a +good deal without intending to, and now I want +to make it right with you. What shall I do to +make it good?'' + +``Why, what happened to it, Abe?'' asked the +rich farmer, as he took the copy of Weems's +``Life of Washington'' which he had lent young +Lincoln, and looked at the stained leaves and +warped binding. ``It looks as if it had been out +through all last night's storm. How came you +to forget, and leave it out to soak?'' + +``It was this way, Mr. Crawford,'' replied Abe. +``I sat up late to read it, and when I went to bed, +I put it away carefully in my bookcase, as I call +it, a little opening between two logs in the wall of +our cabin. I dreamed about General Washington +all night. When I woke up I took it out to read +a page or two before I did the chores, and you +can't imagine how I felt when I found it in this +shape. It seems that the mud-daubing had got +out of the weather side of that crack, and the +rain must have dripped on it three or four hours +before I took it out. I'm sorry, Mr. Crawford, +and want to fix it up with you, if you can +tell me how, for I have not got money to pay +for it.'' + +``Well,'' said Mr. Crawford, ``come and shuck +corn three days, and the book 's yours.'' + +Had Mr. Crawford told young Abraham Lincoln +that he had fallen heir to a fortune the boy +could hardly have felt more elated. Shuck corn +only three days, and earn the book that told all +about his greatest hero! + +``I don't intend to shuck corn, split rails, and +the like always,'' he told Mrs. Crawford, after he +had read the volume. ``I'm going to fit myself +for a profession.'' + +``Why, what do you want to be, now?'' asked +Mrs. Crawford in surprise. + +``Oh, I'll be President!'' said Abe with a smile. + +``You'd make a pretty President with all your +tricks and jokes, now, wouldn't you?'' said the +farmer's wife. + +``Oh, I'll study and get ready,'' replied the +boy, ``and then maybe the chance will come.'' + + +WHY LINCOLN WAS CALLED +``HONEST ABE'' + +BY NOAH BROOKS + +In managing the country store, as in everything +that he undertook for others, Lincoln did his very +best. He was honest, civil, ready to do anything +that should encourage customers to come to the +place, full of pleasantries, patient, and alert. + +On one occasion, finding late at night, when he +counted over his cash, that he had taken a few +cents from a customer more than was due, he +closed the store, and walked a long distance to +make good the deficiency. + +At another time, discovering on the scales in +the morning a weight with which he had weighed +out a package of tea for a woman the night before, +he saw that he had given her too little for +her money. He weighed out what was due, and +carried it to her, much to the surprise of the +woman, who had not known that she was short +in the amount of her purchase. + +Innumerable incidents of this sort are related +of Lincoln, and we should not have space to tell +of the alertness with which he sprang to protect +defenseless women from insult, or feeble children +from tyranny; for in the rude community in +which he lived, the rights of the defenseless were +not always respected as they should have been. +There were bullies then, as now. + + +A STRANGER AT FIVE-POINTS + +(ADAPTED) + +One afternoon in February, 1860, when the Sunday +School of the Five-Point House of Industry +in New York was assembled, the teacher saw a +most remarkable man enter the room and take +his place among the others. This stranger was +tall, his frame was gaunt and sinewy, his head +powerful, with determined features overcast by +a gentle melancholy. + +He listened with fixed attention to the +exercises. His face expressed such genuine interest +that the teacher, approaching him, suggested that +he might have something to say to the children. + +The stranger accepted the invitation with +evident pleasure. Coming forward, he began to +speak and at once fascinated every child in the +room. His language was beautiful yet simple, +his tones were musical, and he spoke with deep +feeling. + +The faces of the boys and girls drooped sadly +as he uttered warnings, and then brightened with +joy as he spoke cheerful words of promise. Once +or twice he tried to close his remarks, but the +children shouted: ``Go on! Oh! do go on!'' and +he was forced to continue. + +At last he finished his talk and was leaving the +room quietly when the teacher begged to know +his name. + +``Abra'm Lincoln, of Illinois,'' was the modest +response. + + +A SOLOMON COME TO JUDGMENT + +BY CHARLES W. MOORES + +Lincoln's practical sense and his understanding +of human nature enabled him to save the life of +the son of his old Clary's Grove friend, Jack +Armstrong, who was on trial for murder. Lincoln, +learning of it, went to the old mother who had +been kind to him in the days of his boyhood +poverty, and promised her that he would get her +boy free. + +The witnesses were sure that Armstrong was +guilty, and one of them declared that he had seen +the fatal blow struck. It was late at night, he +said, and the light of the full moon had made it +possible for him to see the crime committed. +Lincoln, on cross-examination, asked him only +questions enough to make the jury see that it was the +full moon that made it possible for the witness to +see what occurred; got him to say two or three +times that he was sure of it, and seemed to give +up any further effort to save the boy. + +But when the evidence was finished, and +Lincoln's time came to make his argument, he called +for an almanac, which the clerk of the court had +ready for him, and handed it to the jury. They +saw at once that on the night of the murder there +was no moon at all. They were satisfied that the +witness had told what was not true. Lincoln's +case was won. + + +GEORGE PICKETT'S FRIEND + +BY CHARLES W. MOORES + +George Pickett, who had known Lincoln in +Illinois, years before, joined the Southern army, +and by his conspicuous bravery and ability had +become one of the great generals of the +Confederacy. Toward the close of the war, when a +large part of Virginia had fallen into the +possession of the Union army, the President called at +General Pickett's Virginia home. + +The general's wife, with her baby on her arm, +met him at the door. She herself has told the +story for us. + +`` `Is this George Pickett's home?' he asked. + +``With all the courage and dignity I could +muster, I replied: `Yes, and I am his wife, and +this is his baby.' + +`` `I am Abraham Lincoln.' + +`` `The President!' I gasped. I had never seen +him, but I knew the intense love and reverence +with which my soldier always spoke of him. + +``The stranger shook his head and replied: +`No; Abraham Lincoln, George's old friend.' + +``The baby pushed away from me and reached +out his hands to Mr. Lincoln, who took him in his +arms. As he did so an expression of rapt, almost +divine tenderness and love lighted up the sad +face. It was a look that I have never seen on any +other face. The baby opened his mouth wide and +insisted upon giving his father's friend a dewy +kiss. + +``As Mr. Lincoln gave the little one back to me +he said: `Tell your father, the rascal, that I forgive +him for the sake of your bright eyes.' '' + + +LINCOLN THE LAWYER + +BY Z. A. MUDGE (ADAPTED) + +He delighted to advocate the cases of those whom +he knew to be wronged, but he would not defend +the cause of the guilty. If he discovered in the +course of a trial that he was on the wrong side, +he lost all interest, and ceased to make any +exertion. + +Once, while engaged in a prosecution, he +discovered that his client's cause was not a good one, +and he refused to make the plea. His associate, +who was less scrupulous, made the plea and obtained +a decision in their favor. The fee was nine +hundred dollars, half of which was tendered to +Mr. Lincoln, but he refused to accept a single +cent of it. + +His honesty was strongly illustrated by the way +he kept his accounts with his law-partner. When +he had taken a fee in the latter's absence, he put +one half of it into his own pocket, and laid the +other half carefully away, labeling it ``Billy,'' +the name by which he familiarly addressed his +partner. When asked why he did not make a +record of the amount and, for the time being, use +the whole, Mr. Lincoln answered: ``Because I +promised my mother never to use money belonging +to another person.'' + + +THE COURAGE OF HIS CONVICTIONS + +(ADAPTED) + +Mr. Lincoln made the great speech of his famous +senatorial campaign at Springfield, Illinois. The +convention before which he spoke consisted of a +thousand delegates together with the crowd that +had gathered with them. + +His speech was carefully prepared. Every +sentence was guarded and emphatic. It has since +become famous as ``The Divided House'' speech. +Before entering the hall where it was to be +delivered, he stepped into the office of his law- +partner, Mr. Herndon, and, locking the door, so +that their interview might be private, took his +manuscript from his pocket, and read one of the +opening sentences: ``I believe this government +cannot endure permanently, half slave and half +free.'' + +Mr. Herndon remarked that the sentiment was +true, but suggested that it might not be GOOD POLICY +to utter it at that time. + +Mr. Lincoln replied with great firmness: ``No +matter about the POLICY. It is TRUE, and the +nation is entitled to it. The proposition has been +true for six thousand years, and I will deliver it +as it is written.'' + + +MR. LINCOLN AND THE BIBLE + +BY Z. A. MUDGE (ADAPTED) + +A visitor in Washington once had an appointment +to see Mr. Lincoln at five o'clock in the +morning. The gentleman made a hasty toilet +and presented himself at a quarter of five in the +waiting-room of the President. He asked the +usher if he could see Mr. Lincoln. + +``No,'' he replied. + +``But I have an engagement to meet him this +morning,'' answered the visitor. + +``At what hour?'' asked the usher. + +``At five o'clock.'' + +``Well, sir, he will see you at five.'' + +The visitor waited patiently, walking to and +fro for a few minutes, when he heard a voice as +if in grave conversation. + +``Who is talking in the next room?'' he asked. + +``It is the President, sir,'' said the usher, who +then explained that it was Mr. Lincoln's custom +to spend every morning from four to five reading +the Scriptures, and praying. + + +HIS SPRINGFIELD FAREWELL +ADDRESS + +It was on the morning of February 11, 1861, that +the President-elect, together with his family and +a small party of friends, bade adieu to the city +of Springfield, which, alas! he was never to see +again. + +A large throng of Springfield citizens assembled +at the railway station to see the departure, and +before the train left Mr. Lincoln addressed them +in the following words:-- + +``MY FRIENDS: No one, not in my position, can +appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To +this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived +more than a quarter of a century; here my +children were born, and here one of them lies buried. +I know not how soon I shall see you again. A +duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater +than that which has devolved upon any other +man since the days of Washington. He never +would have succeeded except by the aid of Divine +Providence, upon which he at all times relied. +I feel that I cannot succeed without the same +Divine aid which sustained him, and on the same +Almighty Being I place my reliance for support; +and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that +I may receive that Divine assistance, without +which I cannot succeed, but with which success +is certain. Again I bid you an affectionate farewell.'' + + + +SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY + +(FEBRUARY 14) + +SAINT VALENTINE + +The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome +in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius +aided the Christian martyrs, and for this kind +deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and +dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned +him to be beaten to death with clubs and +to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom +on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. + +At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very +ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month +of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a +heathen god. + +On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan +ceremonies, the names of young women were +placed in a box, from which they were drawn by +the men as chance directed. + +The pastors of the early Christian Church in +Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan +element in these feasts by substituting the names +of saints for those of maidens. And as the +Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the +pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's +Day for the celebration of this new feast. + +So it seems that the custom of young men +choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons +for the coming year, arose in this wise. + + +A PRISONER'S VALENTINE + +BY MILLICENT OLMSTED (ADAPTED) + +Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was taken +prisoner at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, and +detained in England twenty-five years, was the +author of the earliest known written valentines. +He left about sixty of them. They were written +during his confinement in the Tower of London, +and are still to be seen among the royal papers +in the British Museum. + +One of his valentines reads as follows:-- + + ``Wilt thou be mine? dear Love, reply-- + Sweetly consent or else deny. + Whisper softly, none shall know, + Wilt thou be mine, Love?--aye or no? + + ``Spite of Fortune, we may be + Happy by one word from thee. + Life flies swiftly--ere it go + Wilt thou be mine, Love?--aye or no?'' + + +A GIRL'S VALENTINE CHARM + +AS TOLD BY HERSELF + +(FROM THE CONNOISSEUR, 1775) + +Last Friday was Valentine's Day, and I'll tell +you what I did the night before. I got five bay +leaves, and pinned four of them to the four corners +of my pillow, and the fifth to the middle; and then +if I dreamt of my sweetheart, Betty said we would +be married before the year was out. + +But to make it more sure, I boiled an egg hard, +and took out the yolk, and filled it with salt, and +when I went to bed ate it, shell and all, without +speaking or drinking after it. + +We also wrote our lovers' names upon bits of +paper, and rolled them up in clay and put them +into water; and the first that rose up was to be +our valentine. Would you think it? Mr. Blossom +was my man, and I lay abed and shut my eyes +all the morning, till he came to our house, for I +would not have seen another man before him for +all the world. + + +MR. PEPYS HIS VALENTINE + +AS RELATED BY HIMSELF IN 1666 + +(ADAPTED) + +This morning, came up to my wife's bedside, I +being up dressing myself, little Will Mercer, to +be her valentine; and brought her name writ upon +blue paper in gold letters, done by himself, very +pretty; and we were both well pleased with it. + +But I am also this year my wife's valentine; +and it will cost me five pounds; but that I must +have laid out if we had not been valentines. + +I find also that Mrs. Pierce's little girl is my +valentine, she having drawn me; which I am not +sorry for, it easing me of something more that I +must have given to others. + +But here I do first observe the fashion of +drawing of mottoes as well as names; so that Pierce, +who drew my wife, did draw also a motto, and +this girl drew another for me. What mine was I +have forgot, but my wife's was: ``Most virtuous +and most fair,'' which, as it may be used, or an +anagram made upon each name, might be; very +pretty. + + + +CUPID AND PSYCHE + +BY JOSEPHINE PRESTON PEABODY + +THE ENCHANTED PALACE + +Once upon a time, through that Destiny that +overrules the gods, Love himself gave up his +immortal heart to a mortal maiden. And thus it +came to pass:-- + +There was a certain king who had three beautiful +daughters. The two elder married princes of +great renown; but Psyche, the youngest, was so +radiantly fair that no suitor seemed worthy of +her. People thronged to see her pass through the +city, and sang hymns in her praise, while strangers +took her for the very goddess of beauty herself. + +This angered Venus, and she resolved to cast +down her earthly rival. One day, therefore, she +called hither her son, Love (Cupid, some name +him), and bade him sharpen his weapons. He is +an archer more to be dreaded than Apollo, for +Apollo's arrows take life, but Love's bring joy +or sorrow for a whole life long. + +``Come, Love,'' said Venus. ``There is a mortal +maid who robs me of my honors in yonder city. +Avenge your mother. Wound this precious +Psyche, and let her fall in love with some churlish +creature mean in the eyes of all men.'' + +Cupid made ready his weapons, and flew down +to earth invisibly. At that moment Psyche was +asleep in her chamber; but he touched her heart +with his golden arrow of love, and she opened her +eyes so suddenly that he started (forgetting that +he was invisible), and wounded himself with his +own shaft. Heedless of the hurt, moved only by +the loveliness of the maiden, he hastened to pour +over her locks the healing joy that he ever kept +by him, undoing all his work. Back to her dream +the princess went, unshadowed by any thought of +love. But Cupid, not so light of heart, returned +to the heavens, saying not a word of what had +passed. + +Venus waited long; then, seeing that Psyche's +heart had somehow escaped love, she sent a spell +upon the maiden. From that time, lovely as she +was, not a suitor came to woo; and her parents, +who desired to see her a queen at least, made a +journey to the Oracle, and asked counsel. + +Said the voice: ``The Princess Psyche shall +never wed a mortal. She shall be given to one +who waits for her on yonder mountain; he overcomes +gods and men.'' + +At this terrible sentence the poor parents were +half-distraught, and the people gave themselves +up to grief at the fate in store for their beloved +princess. Psyche alone bowed to her destiny. +``We have angered Venus unwittingly,'' she said, +``and all for sake of me, heedless maiden that +I am! Give me up, therefore, dear father and +mother. If I atone, it may be that the city will +prosper once more.'' + +So she besought them, until, after many +unavailing denials, the parents consented; and with +a great company of people they led Psyche up +the mountain,--as an offering to the monster +of whom the Oracle had spoken,--and left her +there alone. + +Full of courage, yet in a secret agony of grief, +she watched her kindred and her people wind +down the mountain-path, too sad to look back, +until they were lost to sight. Then, indeed, she +wept, but a sudden breeze drew near, dried her +tears, and caressed her hair, seeming to murmur +comfort. In truth, it was Zephyr, the kindly +West Wind, come to befriend her; and as she took +heart, feeling some benignant presence, he lifted +her in his arms, and carried her on wings as even +as a sea-gull's, over the crest of the fateful +mountain and into a valley below. There he left her, +resting on a bank of hospitable grass, and there +the princess fell asleep. + +When she awoke, it was near sunset. She +looked about her for some sign of the monster's +approach; she wondered, then, if her grievous +trial had been but a dream. Near by she saw a +sheltering forest, whose young trees seemed to +beckon as one maid beckons to another; and +eager for the protection of the dryads, she went +thither. + +The call of running waters drew her farther +and farther, till she came out upon an open +place, where there was a wide pool. A fountain +fluttered gladly in the midst of it, and beyond +there stretched a white palace wonderful to see. +Coaxed by the bright promise of the place, she +drew near, and, seeing no one, entered softly. It +was all kinglier than her father's home, and as +she stood in wonder and awe, soft airs stirred +about her. Little by little the silence grew +murmurous like the woods, and one voice, sweeter +than the rest, took words. ``All that you see is +yours, gentle high princess,'' it said. ``Fear +nothing; only command us, for we are here to serve +you.'' + +Full of amazement and delight, Psyche +followed the voice from hall to hall, and through +the lordly rooms, beautiful with everything that +could delight a young princess. No pleasant +thing was lacking. There was even a pool, brightly +tiled and fed with running waters, where she +bathed her weary limbs; and after she had put on +the new and beautiful raiment that lay ready for +her, she sat down to break her fast, waited upon +and sung to by the unseen spirits. + +Surely he whom the Oracle had called her +husband was no monster, but some beneficent power, +invisible like all the rest. When daylight waned +he came, and his voice, the beautiful voice of a +god, inspired her to trust her strange destiny and +to look and long for his return. Often she begged +him to stay with her through the day, that she +might see his face; but this he would not grant. + +``Never doubt me, dearest Psyche,'' said he. +``Perhaps you would fear if you saw me, and love +is all I ask. There is a necessity that keeps me +hidden now. Only believe.'' + +So for many days Psyche was content; but +when she grew used to happiness, she thought +once more of her parents mourning her as lost, +and of her sisters who shared the lot of mortals +while she lived as a goddess. One night she told +her husband of these regrets, and begged that +her sisters at least might come to see her. He +sighed, but did not refuse. + +``Zephyr shall bring them hither,'' said he. +And on the following morning, swift as a bird, +the West Wind came over the crest of the high +mountain and down into the enchanted valley, +bearing her two sisters. + +They greeted Psyche with joy and amazement, +hardly knowing how they had come hither. But +when this fairest of the sisters led them through +her palace and showed them all the treasures that +were hers, envy grew in their hearts and choked +their old love. Even while they sat at feast with +her, they grew more and more bitter; and hoping +to find some little flaw in her good fortune, they +asked a thousand questions. + +``Where is your husband?'' said they. ``And +why is he not here with you?'' + +``Ah,'' stammered Psyche. ``All the day long +--he is gone, hunting upon the mountains.'' + +``But what does he look like?'' they asked; and +Psyche could find no answer. + +When they learned that she had never seen +him, they laughed her faith to scorn. + +``Poor Psyche,'' they said. ``You are walking +in a dream. Wake, before it is too late. Have you +forgotten what the Oracle decreed,--that you +were destined for a dreadful creature, the fear of +gods and men? And are you deceived by this +show of kindliness? We have come to warn you. +The people told us, as we came over the mountain, +that your husband is a dragon, who feeds +you well for the present, that he may feast the +better, some day soon. What is it that you trust? +Good words! But only take a dagger some night, +and when the monster is asleep go, light a lamp, +and look at him. You can put him to death easily, +and all his riches will be yours--and ours.'' + +Psyche heard this wicked plan with horror. +Nevertheless, after her sisters were gone, she +brooded over what they had said, not seeing their +evil intent; and she came to find some wisdom +in their words. Little by little, suspicion ate, like +a moth, into her lovely mind; and at nightfall, in +shame and fear, she hid a lamp and a dagger in +her chamber. Towards midnight, when her husband +was fast asleep, up she rose, hardly daring +to breathe; and coming softly to his side, she +uncovered the lamp to see some horror. + +But there the youngest of the gods lay +sleeping,--most beautiful, most irresistible of all +immortals. His hair shone golden as the sun, his +face was radiant as dear Springtime, and from +his shoulders sprang two rainbow wings. + +Poor Psyche was overcome with self-reproach. +As she leaned towards him, filled with worship, +her trembling hands held the lamp ill, and some +burning oil fell upon Love's shoulder and awakened him. + +He opened his eyes, to see at once his bride and +the dark suspicion in her heart. + +``O doubting Psyche!'' he exclaimed with +sudden grief,--and then he flew away, out of the +window. + +Wild with sorrow, Psyche tried to follow, but +she fell to the ground instead. When she recovered +her senses, she stared about her. She was +alone, and the place was beautiful no longer. +Garden and palace had vanished with Love. + + +THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE: + + +Over mountains and valleys Psyche journeyed +alone until she came to the city where her two +envious sisters lived with the princes whom they +had married. She stayed with them only long +enough to tell the story of her unbelief and its +penalty. Then she set out again to search for +Love. + +As she wandered one day, travel-worn but not +hopeless, she saw a lofty palace on a hill near by, +and she turned her steps thither. The place +seemed deserted. Within the hall she saw no +human being,--only heaps of grain, loose ears of +corn half torn from the husk, wheat and barley, +alike scattered in confusion on the floor. Without +delay, she set to work binding the sheaves together +and gathering the scattered ears of corn +in seemly wise, as a princess would wish to see +them. While she was in the midst of her task, a +voice startled her, and she looked up to behold +Demeter herself, the goddess of the harvest, +smiling upon her with good will. + +``Dear Psyche,'' said Demeter, ``you are +worthy of happiness, and you may find it yet. +But since you have displeased Venus, go to her +and ask her favor. Perhaps your patience will win +her pardon.'' + +These motherly words gave Psyche heart, and +she reverently took leave of the goddess and set +out for the temple of Venus. Most humbly she +offered up her prayer, but Venus could not look +at her earthly beauty without anger. + +``Vain girl,'' said she, ``perhaps you have come +to make amends for the wound you dealt your +husband; you shall do so. Such clever people can +always find work!'' + +Then she led Psyche into a great chamber +heaped high with mingled grain, beans, and lentils +(the food of her doves), and bade her separate +them all and have them ready in seemly fashion +by night. Heracles would have been helpless before +such a vexatious task; and poor Psyche, left +alone in this desert of grain, had not courage to +begin. But even as she sat there, a moving thread +of black crawled across the floor from a crevice +in the wall; and bending nearer, she saw that a +great army of ants in columns had come to her +aid. The zealous little creatures worked in +swarms, with such industry over the work they +like best, that, when Venus came at night, she +found the task completed. + +``Deceitful girl,'' she cried, shaking the roses +out of her hair with impatience, ``this is my son's +work, not yours. But he will soon forget you. +Eat this black bread if you are hungry, and refresh +your dull mind with sleep. To-morrow you +will need more wit.'' + +Psyche wondered what new misfortune could +be in store for her. But when morning came, +Venus led her to the brink of a river, and, +pointing to the wood across the water, said: ``Go now +to yonder grove where the sheep with the golden +fleece are wont to browse. Bring me a golden lock +from every one of them, or you must go your +ways and never come back again.'' + +This seemed not difficult, and Psyche +obediently bade the goddess farewell, and stepped into +the water, ready to wade across. But as Venus +disappeared, the reeds sang louder and the +nymphs of the river, looking up sweetly, blew +bubbles to the surface and murmured: ``Nay, +nay, have a care, Psyche. This flock has not the +gentle ways of sheep. While the sun burns aloft, +they are themselves as fierce as flame; but when +the shadows are long, they go to rest and sleep, +under the trees; and you may cross the river +without fear and pick the golden fleece off the briers +in the pasture.'' + +Thanking the water-creatures, Psyche sat +down to rest near them, and when the time came, +she crossed in safety and followed their counsel. +By twilight she returned to Venus with her arms +full of shining fleece. + +``No mortal wit did this,'' said Venus angrily. +``But if you care to prove your readiness, go now, +with this little box, down to Proserpina and ask +her to enclose in it some of her beauty, for I have +grown pale in caring for my wounded son.'' + +It needed not the last taunt to sadden Psyche. +She knew that it was not for mortals to go into +Hades and return alive; and feeling that Love had +forsaken her, she was minded to accept her doom +as soon as might be. + +But even as she hastened towards the descent, +another friendly voice detained her. ``Stay, +Psyche, I know your grief. Only give ear and +you shall learn a safe way through all these trials.'' +And the voice went on to tell her how one might +avoid all the dangers of Hades and come out unscathed. +(But such a secret could not pass from +mouth to mouth, with the rest of the story.) + +``And be sure,'' added the voice, ``when +Proserpina has returned the box, not to open it, +ever much you may long to do so.'' + +Psyche gave heed, and by this device, whatever +it was, she found her way into Hades safely, and +made her errand known to Proserpina, and was +soon in the upper world again, wearied but hopeful. + +``Surely Love has not forgotten me,'' she said. +``But humbled as I am and worn with toil, how +shall I ever please him? Venus can never need all +the beauty in this casket; and since I use it for +Love's sake, it must be right to take some.'' So +saying, she opened the box, heedless as Pandora! +The spells and potions of Hades are not for mortal +maids, and no sooner had she inhaled the strange +aroma than she fell down like one dead, quite +overcome. + +But it happened that Love himself was recovered +from his wound, and he had secretly fled +from his chamber to seek out and rescue Psyche. +He found her lying by the wayside; he gathered +into the casket what remained of the philter, and +awoke his beloved. + +``Take comfort,'' he said, smiling. ``Return to +our mother and do her bidding till I come again.'' + +Away he flew; and while Psyche went cheerily +homeward, he hastened up to Olympus, where all +the gods sat feasting, and begged them to intercede +for him with his angry mother. + +They heard his story and their hearts were +touched. Zeus himself coaxed Venus with kind +words till at last she relented, and remembered +that anger hurt her beauty, and smiled once +more. All the younger gods were for welcoming +Psyche at once, and Hermes was sent to bring +her hither. The maiden came, a shy newcomer +among those bright creatures. She took the cup +that Hebe held out to her, drank the divine +ambrosia, and became immortal. + +Light came to her face like moonrise, two +radiant wings sprang from her shoulders; and even +as a butterfly bursts from its dull cocoon, so the +human Psyche blossomed into immortality. + +Love took her by the hand, and they were +never parted any more. + + + +WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY + +(FEBRUARY 22) + + +THREE OLD TALES + +BY M. L. WEEMS (ADAPTED) + +I. THE CHERRY TREE + +When George was about six years old, he was +made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, +like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He +went about chopping everything that came his +way. + +One day, as he wandered about the garden +amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea- +sticks, he found a beautiful, young English cherry +tree, of which his father was most proud. He +tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the +tree and barked it so that it died. + +Some time after this, his father discovered what +had happened to his favorite tree. He came into +the house in great anger, and demanded to know +who the mischievous person was who had cut +away the bark. Nobody could tell him anything +about it. + +Just then George, with his little hatchet, came +into the room. + +``George,'' said his father, ``do you know who +has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder +in the garden? I would not have taken five +guineas for it!'' + +This was a hard question to answer, and for a +moment George was staggered by it, but quickly +recovering himself he cried:-- + +``I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot +tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.'' + +The anger died out of his father's face, and +taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said:-- + +``My son, that you should not be afraid to tell +the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! +yes, though they were blossomed with silver and +had leaves of the purest gold!'' + + +II. THE APPLE ORCHARD + + +One fine morning in the autumn Mr. Washington, +taking little George by the hand, walked +with him to the apple orchard, promising that he +would show him a fine sight. + +On arriving at the orchard they saw a fine sight, +indeed! The green grass under the trees was +strewn with red-cheeked apples, and yet the +trees were bending under the weight of fruit that +hung thick among the leaves. + +``Now, George,'' said his father, ``look, my +son, see all this rich harvest of fruit! Do you +remember when your good cousin brought you a +fine, large apple last spring, how you refused to +divide it with your brothers? And yet I told you +then that, if you would be generous, God would +give you plenty of apples this autumn.'' + +Poor George could not answer, but hanging +down his head looked quite confused, while with +his little, naked, bare feet he scratched in the soft +ground. + +``Now, look up, my son,'' continued his father, +``and see how the blessed God has richly provided +us with these trees loaded with the finest fruit. +See how abundant is the harvest. Some of the +trees are bending beneath their burdens, while the +ground is covered with mellow apples, more than +you could eat, my son, in all your lifetime.'' + +George looked in silence on the orchard, he +marked the busy, humming bees, and heard the +gay notes of the birds fluttering from tree to tree. +His eyes filled with tears and he answered softly:-- + +``Truly, father, I never will be selfish any +more.'' + + +III. THE GARDEN-BED + + +One day Mr. Washington went into the garden +and dug a little bed of earth and prepared it for +seed. He then took a stick and traced on the bed +George's name in full. After this he strewed the +tracing thickly with seeds, and smoothed all over +nicely with his roller. + +This garden-bed he purposely prepared close +to a gooseberry-walk. The bushes were hung with +the ripe fruit, and he knew that George would +visit them every morning. + +Not many days had passed away when one +morning George came running into the house, +breathless with excitement, and his eyes shining +with happiness. + +``Come here! father, come here!'' he cried. + +``What's the matter, my son?'' asked his +father. + +``O come, father,'' answered George, ``and I'll +show you such a sight as you have never seen in +all your lifetime.'' + +Mr. Washington gave the boy his hand, which +he seized with great eagerness. He led his father +straight to the garden-bed, whereon in large +letters, in lines of soft green, was written:-- + +GEORGE WASHINGTON + + +YOUNG GEORGE AND THE COLT + +BY HORACE E. SCUDDER + +There is a story told of George Washington's +boyhood,--unfortunately there are not many +stories,--which is to the point. His father had +taken a great deal of pride in his blooded horses, +and his mother afterward took pains to keep the +stock pure. She had several young horses that +had not yet been broken, and one of them in +particular, a sorrel, was extremely spirited. No +one had been able to do anything with it, and it +was pronounced thoroughly vicious as people are +apt to pronounce horses which they have not +learned to master. + +George was determined to ride this colt, and +told his companions that if they would help him +catch it, he would ride and tame it. + +Early in the morning they set out for the +pasture, where the boys managed to surround the +sorrel, and then to put a bit into its mouth. +Washington sprang upon its back, the boys +dropped the bridle, and away flew the angry +animal. + +Its rider at once began to command. The horse +resisted, backing about the field, rearing and +plunging. The boys became thoroughly alarmed, +but Washington kept his seat, never once losing +his self-control or his mastery of the colt. + +The struggle was a sharp one; when suddenly, +as if determined to rid itself of its rider, the +creature leaped into the air with a tremendous bound. +It was its last. The violence burst a blood-vessel, +and the noble horse fell dead. + +Before the boys could sufficiently recover to +consider how they should extricate themselves +from the scrape, they were called to breakfast; +and the mistress of the house, knowing that they +had been in the fields, began to ask after her +stock. + +``Pray, young gentlemen,'' said she, ``have you +seen my blooded colts in your rambles? I hope +they are well taken care of. My favorite, I am +told, is as large as his sire.'' + +The boys looked at one another, and no one +liked to speak. Of course the mother repeated +her question. + +``The sorrel is dead, madam,'' said her son, ``I +killed him.'' + +And then he told the whole story. They say +that his mother flushed with anger, as her son +often used to, and then, like him, controlled +herself, and presently said, quietly:-- + +``It is well; but while I regret the loss of my +favorite, I rejoice in my son who always speaks +the truth.'' + + +WASHINGTON THE ATHLETE + +BY ALBERT F. BLAISDELL AND FRANCIS E. BALL + +Many stories are told of the mighty power of +Washington's right arm. It is said that he once +threw a stone from the bed of the stream to the +top of the Natural Bridge, in Virginia. + +Again, we are told that once upon a time he +rounded a piece of slate to the size of a silver +dollar, and threw it across the Rappahannock at +Fredericksburg, the slate falling at least thirty +feet on the other side. Many strong men have +since tried the same feat, but have never cleared +the water. + +Peale, who was called the soldier-artist, was +once visiting Washington at Mount Vernon. One +day, he tells us, some athletic young men were +pitching the iron bar in the presence of their host. +Suddenly, without taking off his coat, Washington +grasped the bar and hurled it, with little effort, +much farther than any of them had done. + +``We were, indeed, amazed,'' said one of the +young men, ``as we stood round, all stripped to +the buff, and having thought ourselves very +clever fellows, while the Colonel, on retiring, +pleasantly said:-- + +`` `When you beat my pitch, young gentlemen, +I'll try again.' '' + +At another time, Washington witnessed a +wrestling-match. The champion of the day +challenged him, in sport, to wrestle. Washington did +not stop to take off his coat, but grasped the +``strong man of Virginia.'' It was all over in a +moment, for, said the wrestler, ``In Washington's +lionlike grasp I became powerless, and was hurled +to the ground with a force that seemed to jar the +very marrow in my bones.'' + +In the days of the Revolution, some of the +riflemen and the backwoodsmen were men of +gigantic strength, but it was generally believed +by good judges that their commander-in-chief +was the strongest man in the army. + + +WASHINGTON'S MODESTY + +BY HENRY CABOT LODGE (ADAPTED) + +Washington as soon as Fort Duquesne had fallen +hurried home, resigned his commission, and was +married. The sunshine and glitter of the wedding +day must have appeared to Washington deeply +appropriate, for he certainly seemed to have all +that heart of man could desire. Just twenty- +seven, in the first flush of young manhood, keen +of sense and yet wise in experience, life must have +looked very fair and smiling. He had left the +army with a well-earned fame, and had come +home to take the wife of his choice, and enjoy the +good will and respect of all men. + +While away on his last campaign he had been +elected a member of the House of Burgesses, and +when he took his seat, on removing to Williamsburg, +three months after his marriage, Mr. Robinson, +the Speaker, thanked him publicly in eloquent +words for his services to the country. + +Washington rose to reply, but he was so utterly +unable to talk about himself that he stood before +the House stammering and blushing until the +Speaker said:-- + +``Sit down, Mr. Washington, your modesty +equals your valor, and that surpasses the power +of any language I possess.'' + + +WASHINGTON AT YORKTOWN + +BY HENRY CABOT LODGE + +During the assault Washington stood in an +embrasure of the grand battery, watching the +advance of the men. He was always given to +exposing himself recklessly when there was +fighting to be done, but not when he was only an +observer. + +This night, however, he was much exposed to +the enemy's fire. One of his aides, anxious and +disturbed for his safety, told him that the place +was perilous. + +``If you think so,'' was the quiet answer, ``you +are at liberty to step back.'' + +The moment was too exciting, too fraught with +meaning, to think of peril. The old fighting spirit +of Braddock's field was unchained for the last +time. He would have liked to head the American +assault, sword in hand, and as he could not do +that, he stood as near his troops as he could, +utterly regardless of the bullets whistling in the +air about him. Who can wonder at his intense +excitement at that moment? + +Others saw a brilliant storming of two out- +works, but to Washington the whole Revolution +and all the labor and thought and conflict of six +years were culminating in the smoke and din on +those redoubts, while out of the dust and heat of +the sharp, quick fight success was coming. + +He had waited long, and worked hard, and his +whole soul went out as he watched the troops +cross the abatis and scale the works. He could +have no thought of danger then, and when all was +over, he turned to Knox and said:-- + +``The work is done, and well done. Bring me +my horse.'' + + + +RESURRECTION DAY (EASTER) + +(MARCH OR APRIL) + +A LESSON OF FAITH + +BY MRS. ALFRED GATTY (ADAPTED) + +``Let me hire you as a nurse for my poor children,'' +said a butterfly to a quiet caterpillar, who +was strolling along a cabbage-leaf in her odd, +lumbering fashion. + +``See these little eggs,'' continued the +butterfly; ``I do not know how long it will be before they +come to life, and I feel very sick. If I should die, +who will take care of my baby butterflies when +I am gone? Will you, kind, mild, green caterpillar? +They cannot, of course, live on your +rough food. You must give them early dew, and +honey from the flowers, and you must let them +fly about only a little way at first. Dear me! it is +a sad pity that you cannot fly yourself. Dear, +dear! I cannot think what made me come and +lay my eggs on a cabbage-leaf! What a place for +young butterflies to be bore upon! Here, take +this gold-dust from my wings as a reward. Oh, +how dizzy I am! Caterpillar! you will remember +about the food--'' + +And with these words the butterfiy drooped +her wings and died. The green caterpillar, who +had not had the opportunity of even saying +``yes'' or ``no'' to the request, was left standing +alone by the side of the butterfly's eggs. + +``A pretty nurse she has chosen, indeed, poor +lady!'' exclaimed she, ``and a pretty business I +have in hand. Why did she ever ask a poor crawling +creature like me to bring up her dainty little +ones! Much they'll mind me, truly, when they +feel the gay wings on their backs, and can fly +away.'' + +However, the poor butterfly was dead, and +there lay the eggs on the cabbage-leaf, and the +green caterpillar had a kind heart, so she resolved +to do her best. + +``But two heads are better than one,'' said she; +``I will consult some wise animal on the matter.'' + +Then she thought and thought till at last she +thought of the lark, and she fancied that because +he went up so high, and nobody knew where he +went to, he must be very clever and know a great +deal. + +Now in the neighboring cornfield there lived +a lark, and the caterpillar sent a message to him, +begging him to come and talk to her. When he +came she told him all her difficulties, and asked +him how she was to feed and rear the little butterfly +creatures. + +``Perhaps you will be able to inquire and learn +something about it the next time you go up high,'' +said the caterpillar timidly. + +``Perhaps I can,'' answered the lark; and then +he went singing upwards into the bright, blue +sky, till the green caterpillar could not hear a +sound, nor could she see him any more. So she +began to walk round the butterfly's eggs, nibbling +a bit of the cabbage-leaf now and then as she +moved along. + +``What a time the lark has been gone!'' she +cried at last. ``I wonder where he is just now. He +must have flown higher than usual this time. How +I should like to know where he goes, and what he +hears in that curious blue sky! He always sings +going up and coming down, but he never lets any +secret out.'' + +And the green caterpillar took another turn +round the butterfly's eggs. + +At last the lark's voice began to be heard again. +The caterpillar almost jumped for joy, and it was +not long before she saw her friend descend with +hushed note to the cabbage bed. + +``News, news, glorious news, friend caterpillar!'' +sang the lark, ``but the worst of it is, you won't +believe me!'' + +``I believe anything I am told,'' said the +caterpillar hastily. + +``Well, then, first of all, I will tell you what +those little creatures are to eat''--and the lark +nodded his head toward the eggs. ``What do you +think it is to be? Guess!'' + +``Dew and honey out of the flowers, I am +afraid!'' sighed the caterpillar. + +``No such thing, my good friend,'' cried the +lark exultantly; ``you are to feed them with +cabbage-leaves!'' + +``Never!'' said the caterpillar indignantly. + +``It was their mother's last request that I should +feed them on dew and honey.'' + +``Their mother knew nothing about the matter,'' +answered the lark; ``but why do you ask +me, and then disbelieve what I say? You have +neither faith nor trust.'' + +``Oh, I believe everything I am told,'' said the +caterpillar. + +``Nay, but you do not,'' replied the lark. + +``Why, caterpillar, what do you think those +little eggs will turn out to be?'' + +``Butterflies, to be sure,'' said the caterpillar. + +``CATERPILLARS!'' sang the lark; ``and you'll find +it out in time.'' And the lark flew away. + +``I thought the lark was wise and kind,'' +said the mild, green caterpillar to herself, once +more beginning to walk round the eggs, ``but +I find that he is foolish and saucy instead. +Perhaps he went up TOO high this time. How +I wonder what he sees, and what he does up +yonder!'' + +``I would tell you if you would believe me,'' +sang the lark, descending once more. + +``I believe everything I am told,'' answered +the caterpillar. + +``Then I'll tell you something else,'' cried the +lark. ``YOU WILL ONE DAY BE A BUTTERFLY YOURSELF!'' + +``Wretched bird,'' exclaimed the caterpillar, +``you are making fun of me. You are now cruel +as well as foolish! Go away! I will ask your advice +no more.'' + +``I told you you would not believe me,'' cried +the lark. + +``I believe everything I am told,'' persisted the +caterpillar,--``everything that it is REASONABLE to +believe. But to tell me that butterflies' eggs are +caterpillars, and that caterpillars leave off crawling +and get wings and become butterflies!-- +Lark! you do not believe such nonsense yourself! +You know it is impossible!'' + +``I know no such thing,'' said the lark. ``When +I hover over the cornfields, or go up into the +depths of the sky, I see so many wonderful things +that I know there must be more. O caterpillar! +it is because you CRAWL, and never get beyond +your cabbage-leaf, that you call anything IMPOSSIBLE.'' + +``Nonsense,'' shouted the caterpillar, ``I know +what's possible and what's impossible. Look at +my long, green body, and many legs, and then +talk to me about having wings! Fool!'' + +``More foolish you!'' cried the indignant lark, +``to attempt to reason about what you cannot +understand. Do you not hear how my song +swells with rejoicing as I soar upwards to the +mysterious wonder-world above? Oh, caterpillar, +what comes from thence, receive as I do,--on +trust.'' + +``What do you mean by that?'' asked the caterpillar. + +``ON FAITH,'' answered the lark. + +``How am I to learn faith?'' asked the caterpillar. + +At that moment she felt something at her side. +She looked round,--eight or ten little green +caterpillars were moving about, and had already +made a hole in the cabbage-leaf. They had +broken from the butterfly's eggs! + +Shame and amazement filled the green caterpillar's +heart, but joy soon followed. For as the +first wonder was possible, the second might be so +too. + +``Teach me your lesson, lark,'' she cried. + +And the lark sang to her of the wonders of +the earth below and of the heaven above. And the +caterpillar talked all the rest of her life of the +time when she should become a butterfly. + +But no one believed her. She nevertheless had +learned the lark's lesson of faith, and when she +was going into her chrysalis, she said:-- + +``I shall be a butterfly some day!'' + +But her relations thought her head was wandering, +and they said, ``Poor thing!'' + +And when she was a butterfly, and was going +to die she said:-- + +``I have known many wonders,--I HAVE FAITH, +--I can trust even now for the wonder that shall +come next.'' + + +A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR + +BY CHARLES DICKENS + +There was once a child, and he strolled about a +good deal, and thought of a number of things. He +had a sister, who was a child, too, and his constant +companion. These two used to wonder all +day long. They wondered at the beauty of the +flowers; they wondered at the height and blueness +of the sky; they wondered at the depth of the +bright water; they wondered at the goodness and +the power of God who made the lovely world. + +They used to say to one another, sometimes: +``Supposing all the children upon earth were to +die, would the flowers, and the water, and the sky +be sorry?'' They believed they would be sorry. +``For,''said they, ``the buds are the children of the +flowers, and the little playful streams that gambol +down the hillsides are the children of the water; +and the smallest, bright specks playing at hide +and seek in the sky all night, must surely be the +children of the stars; and they would all be +grieved to see their playmates, the children of +men, no more.'' + +There was one clear, shining star that used to +come out in the sky before the rest, near the +church spire, above the graves. It was larger and +more beautiful, they thought, than all the others, +and every night they watched for it, standing +hand in hand at a window. Whoever saw it first +cried out: ``I see the star!'' And often they cried +out both together, knowing so well when it would +rise, and where. So they grew to be such friends +with it, that, before lying down in their beds, they +always looked out once again, to bid it good-night; +and when they were turning round to sleep, they +used to say: ``God bless the star!'' + +But while she was still very young, oh, very, +very young, the sister drooped, and came to be so +weak that she could no longer stand in the window +at night; and then the child looked sadly +out by himself, and when he saw the star turned +round and said to the patient, pale face on the +bed: ``I see the star!'' and then a smile would +come upon the face, and a little weak voice used +to say: ``God bless my brother and the star!'' + +And so the time came all too soon, when the +child looked out alone, and when there was no +face on the bed; and when there was a little grave +among the graves, not there before; and when the +star made long rays down towards him, as he saw +it through his tears. + +Now, these rays were so bright, and they +seemed to make such a shining way from earth to +heaven, that when the child went to his solitary +bed he dreamed about the star; and dreamed +that, lying where he was, he saw a train of people +taken up that sparkling road by angels. And the +star, opening, showed him a great world of light, +where many more such angels waited to receive +them. + +All these angels, who were waiting, turned their +beaming eyes upon the people who were carried +up into the star; and some came out from the +long rows in which they stood, and fell upon the +people's necks, and kissed them tenderly, and +went away with them down avenues of light, and +were so happy in their company, that lying in his +bed he wept for joy. + +But there were many angels who did not go +with them, and among them one he knew. The +patient face, that once had lain upon the bed, +was glorified and radiant, but his heart found out +his sister among all the host. + +His sister's angel lingered near the entrance of +the star, and said to the leader among those who +had brought the people thither:-- + +``Is my brother come?'' + +And he said: ``No.'' + +She was turning hopefully away, when the +child stretched out his arms, and cried: ``O sister, +I am here! Take me!'' And then she turned her +beaming eyes upon him, and it was night; and +the star was shining into the room, making long +rays down towards him, as he saw it through his +tears. + +From that hour forth, the child looked out +upon the star as on the home he was to go to +when his time should come; and he thought that +he did not belong to the earth alone, but to +the star, too, because of his sister's angel gone +before. + +There was a baby born to be a brother to the +child; and while he was so little that he never yet +had spoken word, he stretched his tiny form out +on his bed, and died. + +Again the child dreamed of the open star, and +of the company of angels, and the train of people, +and the rows of angels with their beaming eyes +all turned upon those people's faces. + +Said his sister's angel to the leader:-- + +``Is my brother come?'' + +And he said: ``Not that one, but another.'' + +As the child beheld his brother's angel in her +arms, he cried: ``O sister, I am here! Take me!'' +And she turned and smiled upon him, and the +star was shining. + +He grew to be a young man, and was busy at +his books, when an old servant came to him and +said:-- + +``Thy mother is no more. I bring her blessing +on her darling son.'' + +Again at night he saw the star, and all that +former company. Said his sister's angel to the +leader:-- + +``Is my brother come?'' + +And he said: ``Thy mother!'' + +A mighty cry of joy went forth through all the +star, because the mother was reunited to her two +children. And he stretched out his arms and +cried: ``O mother, sister, and brother, I am here! +Take me!'' And they answered him: ``Not yet.'' +And the star was shining. + +He grew to be a man, whose hair was turning +gray, and he was sitting in his chair by the fireside, +heavy with grief, and with his face bedewed +with tears, when the star opened once again. + +Said his sister's angel to the leader:-- + +``Is my brother come?'' + +And he said: ``Nay, but his maiden daughter.'' + +And the man, who had been the child, saw his +daughter, newly lost to him, a celestial creature +among those three, and he said: ``My daughter's +head is on my sister's bosom, and her arm is +around my mother's neck, and at her feet there +is the baby of old time, and I can bear the parting +from her, God be praised!'' + +And the star was shining. + +Thus the child came to be an old man, and his +once smooth face was wrinkled, and his steps were +slow and feeble, and his back was bent. And one +night as he lay upon his bed, his children standing +round, he cried, as he had cried so long ago:-- + +``I see the star!'' + +They whispered one to another: ``He is dying.'' + +And he said: ``I am. My age is falling from me +like a garment, and I move towards the star as a +child. And, O my Father, now I thank Thee that +it has so often opened to receive those dear ones +who await me!'' + +And the star was shining; and it shines upon +his grave. + + +THE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLD + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (ADAPTED) + +Once there reigned a queen, in whose garden were +found the most glorious flowers at all seasons and +from all the lands of the world. But more than all +others she loved the roses, and she had many +kinds of this flower, from the wild dog-rose with +its apple-scented green leaves to the most splendid, +large, crimson roses. They grew against the +garden walls, wound themselves around the pillars +and wind-frames, and crept through the +windows into the rooms, and all along the ceilings +in the halls. And the roses were of many colors, +and of every fragrance and form. + +But care and sorrow dwelt in those halls. The +queen lay upon a sick-bed, and the doctors said +she must die. + +``There is still one thing that can save her,'' +said the wise man. ``Bring her the loveliest rose +in the world, the rose that is the symbol of the +purest, the brightest love. If that is held before +her eyes ere they close, she will not die.'' + +Then old and young came from every side with +roses, the loveliest that bloomed in each garden, +but they were not of the right sort. The flower +was to be plucked from the Garden of Love. But +what rose in all that garden expressed the highest +and purest love? + +And the poets sang of the loveliest rose in the +world,--of the love of maid and youth, and of +the love of dying heroes. + +``But they have not named the right flower,'' +said the wise man. ``They have not pointed out +the place where it blooms in its splendor. It is +not the rose that springs from the hearts of youthful +lovers, though this rose will ever be fragrant +in song. It is not the bloom that sprouts from the +blood flowing from the breast of the hero who +dies for his country, though few deaths are +sweeter than his, and no rose is redder than the +blood that flows then. Nor is it the wondrous +flower to which man devotes many a sleepless +night and much of his fresh life,--the magic +flower of science.'' + ``But I know where it blooms,'' said a happy +mother, who came with her pretty child to the +bedside of the dying queen. ``I know where the +loveliest rose of love may be found. It springs in +the blooming cheeks of my sweet child, when, +waking from sleep, it opens its eyes and smiles +tenderly at me.'' + ``Lovely is this rose, but there is a lovelier still,'' +said the wise man. + ``I have seen the loveliest, purest rose that +blooms,'' said a woman. ``I saw it on the cheeks +of the queen. She had taken off her golden crown. +And in the long, dreary night she carried her sick +child in her arms. She wept, kissed it, and prayed +for her child.'' + ``Holy and wonderful is the white rose of a +mother's grief,'' answered the wise man, ``but it +is not the one we seek.'' + ``The loveliest rose in the world I saw at the +altar of the Lord,'' said the good Bishop, ``the +young maidens went to the Lord's Table. Roses +were blushing and pale roses shining on their fresh +cheeks. A young girl stood there. She looked +with all the love and purity of her spirit up to +heaven. That was the expression of the highest +and purest love.'' + ``May she be blessed,'' said the wise man, ``but +not one of you has yet named the loveliest rose +in the world.'' + Then there came into the room a child, the +queen's little son. + ``Mother,'' cried the boy, ``only hear what I +have read.'' + And the child sat by the bedside and read from +the Book of Him who suffered death upon the +cross to save men, and even those who were not +yet born. ``Greater love there is not.'' + And a rosy glow spread over the cheeks of the +queen, and her eyes gleamed, for she saw that +from the leaves of the Book there bloomed the +loveliest rose, that sprang from the blood of +Christ shed on the cross. + ``I see it!'' she said, ``he who beholds this, the +loveliest rose on earth, shall never die.'' + + + +MAY DAY + +(MAY 1) + + +THE SNOWDROP [1] + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (ADAPTED) + +[1] From For the Children's Hour, by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey and +Clara M. Lewis. Copyright by the Milton Bradley Company. + + +The snow lay deep, for it was winter-time. The +winter winds blew cold, but there was one house +where all was snug and warm. And in the house +lay a little flower; in its bulb it lay, under the +earth and the snow. + +One day the rain fell and it trickled through the +ice and snow down into the ground. And presently +a sunbeam, pointed and slender, pierced +down through the earth, and tapped on the bulb. + +``Come in,'' said the flower. + +``I can't do that,'' said the sunbeam; ``I'm not +strong enough to lift the latch. I shall be stronger +when springtime comes.'' + +``When will it be spring?'' asked the flower of +every little sunbeam that rapped on its door. But +for a long time it was winter. The ground was still +covered with snow, and every night there was ice in +the water. The flower grew quite tired of waiting. + +``How long it is!'' it said. ``I feel quite cramped. +I must stretch myself and rise up a little. I must +lift the latch, and look out, and say `good-morning' +to the spring.'' + +So the flower pushed and pushed. The walls +were softened by the rain and warmed by the +little sunbeams, so the flower shot up from under +the snow, with a pale green bud on its stalk and +some long narrow leaves on either side. It was +biting cold. + +``You are a little too early,'' said the wind and +the weather; but every sunbeam sang: ``Welcome,'' +and the flower raised its head from the +snow and unfolded itself--pure and white, and +decked with green stripes. + +It was weather to freeze it to pieces,--such +a delicate little flower,--but it was stronger than +any one knew. It stood in its white dress in the +white snow, bowing its head when the snow- +flakes fell, and raising it again to smile at the +sunbeams, and every day it grew sweeter. + +``Oh!'' shouted the children, as they ran into +the garden, ``see the snowdrop! There it stands +so pretty, so beautiful,--the first, the only one!'' + + +THE THREE LITTLE BUTTERFLY +BROTHERS + +(FROM THE GERMAN)[2] + +[2] From Deutsches Drittes Lesebuch, by W. H. Weick and C. +Grebner. Copyright, 1886, by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. American +Book Company, publishers. + + +There were once three little butterfly brothers, +one white, one red, and one yellow. They played +in the sunshine, and danced among the flowers +in the garden, and they never grew tired because +they were so happy. + +One day there came a heavy rain, and it wet +their wings. They flew away home, but when +they got there they found the door locked and the +key gone. So they had to stay out of doors in the +rain, and they grew wetter and wetter. + +By and by they flew to the red and yellow +striped tulip, and said: ``Friend Tulip, will you +open your flower-cup and let us in till the storm +is over?'' + +The tulip answered: ``The red and yellow +butterflies may enter, because they are like me, but +the white one may not come in.'' + +But the red and yellow butterflies said: ``If our +white brother may not find shelter in your flowercup, +why, then, we'll stay outside in the rain with +him.'' + +It rained harder and harder, and the poor little +butterflies grew wetter and wetter, so they flew +to the white lily and said: ``Good Lily, will you +open your bud a little so we may creep in out of +the rain?'' + +The lily answered: ``The white butterfly may +come in, because he is like me, but the red and +yellow ones must stay outside in the storm.'' + +Then the little white butterfly said: ``If you +won't receive my red and yellow brothers, why, +then, I'll stay out in the rain with them. We +would rather be wet than be parted.'' + +So the three little butterfiies flew away. + +But the sun, who was behind a cloud, heard it +all, and he knew what good little brothers the +butterflies were, and how they had held together +in spite of the wet. So he pushed his face through +the clouds, and chased away the rain, and shone +brightly on the garden. + +He dried the wings of the three little +butterflies, and warmed their bodies. They ceased to +sorrow, and danced among the flowers till evening, +then they flew away home, and found the +door wide open. + + +THE WATER-DROP + +BY FRIEDRICH WILHELM CAROVE' + +(ADAPTED FROM THE TRANSLATION BY SARAH AUSTIN) + +There was once a child who lived in a little hut, +and in the hut there was nothing but a little bed +and a looking-glass; but as soon as the first +sunbeam glided softly through the casement and +kissed his sweet eyelids, and the finch and the +linnet waked him merrily with their morning +songs, he arose and went out into the green +meadow. + +And he begged flour of the primrose, and sugar +of the violet, and butter of the buttercup. He +shook dewdrops from the cowslip into the cup of +the harebell, spread out a large lime-leaf, set his +breakfast upon it, and feasted daintily. And he +invited a humming-bee and a gay butterfly to +partake of his feast, but his favorite guest was +a blue dragon-fly. + +The bee murmured a good deal about his riches, +and the butterfly told his adventures. Such talk +delighted the child, and his breakfast was the +sweeter to him, and the sunshine on leaf and +flower seemed more bright and cheering. + +But when the bee had flown off to beg from +flower to flower, and the butterfly had fluttered +away to his play-fellows, the dragon-fly still +remained, poised on a blade of grass. Her slender +and burnished body, more brightly and deeply +blue than the deep blue sky, glistened in the +sunbeam. Her net-like wings laughed at the flowers +because they could not fly, but must stand still +and abide the wind and rain. + +The dragon-fly sipped a little of the child's clear +dewdrops and blue violet honey, and then whispered +her winged words. Such stories as the +dragon-fly did tell! And as the child sat +motionless with his blue eyes shut, and his head rested +on his hands, she thought he had fallen asleep; +so she poised her double wings and flew into the +rustling wood. + +But the child had only sunk into a dream of +delight and was wishing he were a sunbeam or a +moonbeam; and he would have been glad to hear +more and more, and forever. + +But at last as all was still, he opened his eyes +and looked around for his dear guest, but she was +flown far away. He could not bear to sit there +any longer alone, and he rose and went to the +gurgling brook. It gushed and rolled so merrily, +and tumbled so wildly along as it hurried to +throw itself head-over-heels into the river, just +as if the great massy rock out of which it sprang +were close behind it, and could only be escaped +by a breakneck leap. + +Then the child began to talk to the little waves +and asked them whence they came. They would +not stay to give him an answer, but danced away +one over another; till at last, that the sweet child +might not be grieved, a water-drop stopped behind +a piece of rock. + +``A long time ago,'' said the water-drop, ``I +lived with my countless sisters in the great Ocean, +in peace and unity. We had all sorts of pastimes. +Sometimes we mounted up high into the air, and +peeped at the stars. Then we sank plump down +deep below, and looked how the coral builders +work till they are tired, that they may reach the +light of day at last. + +``But I was conceited, and thought myself +much better than my sisters. And so, one day, +when the sun rose out of the sea, I clung fast to +one of his hot beams and thought how I should +reach the stars and become one of them. + +``But I had not ascended far when the sunbeam +shook me off, and, in spite of all I could say or do, +let me fall into a dark cloud. And soon a flash of +fire darted through the cloud, and now I thought +I must surely die; but the cloud laid itself down +softly upon the top of a mountain, and so I +escaped. + +``Now I thought I should remain hidden, when, +all on a sudden, I slipped over a round pebble, +fell from one stone to another, down into the +depths of the mountain. At last it was pitch dark +and I could neither see nor hear anything. + +``Then I found, indeed, that `pride goeth +before a fall,' for, though I had already laid aside +all my unhappy pride in the cloud, my punishment +was to remain for some time in the heart of +the mountain. After undergoing many purifications +from the hidden virtues of metals and +minerals, I was at length permitted to come up once +more into the free and cheerful air, and to gush +from this rock and journey with this happy +stream. Now will I run back to my sisters in the +Ocean, and there wait patiently till I am called +to something better.'' + +So said the water-drop to the child, but scarcely +had she finished her story, when the root of a +For-Get-Me-Not caught the drop and sucked her +in, that she might become a floweret, and twinkle +brightly as a blue star on the green firmament of +earth. + + +THE SPRING BEAUTY + +AN OJIBBEWAY LEGEND + +BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT (ADAPTED) + +An old man was sitting in his lodge, by the side +of a frozen stream. It was the end of winter, the +air was not so cold, and his fire was nearly out. +He was old and alone. His locks were white with +age, and he trembled in every joint. Day after +day passed, and he heard nothing but the sound +of the storm sweeping before it the new-fallen +snow. + +One day while his fire was dying, a handsome +young man approached and entered the lodge. +His cheeks were red, his eyes sparkled. He +walked with a quick, light step. His forehead was +bound with a wreath of sweet-grass, and he +carried a bunch of fragrant flowers in his hand. + +``Ah, my son,'' said the old man, ``I am happy +to see you. Come in! Tell me your adventures, +and what strange lands you have seen. I will tell +you of my wonderful deeds, and what I can +perform. You shall do the same, and we will amuse +each other.'' + +The old man then drew from a bag a curiously +wrought pipe. He filled it with mild tobacco, and +handed it to his guest. They each smoked from +the pipe and then began their stories. + +``I am Peboan, the Spirit of Winter,'' said the +old man. ``I blow my breath, and the streams +stand still. The water becomes stiff and hard as +clear stone.'' + +``I am Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring,'' answered +the youth. ``I breathe, and flowers spring up in +the meadows and woods.'' + +``I shake my locks,'' said the old man, ``and +snow covers the land. The leaves fall from the +trees, and my breath blows them away. The +birds fly to a distant land, and the animals hide +themselves from the cold.'' + +``I shake my ringlets,'' said the young man, +``and warm showers of soft rain fall upon the +earth. The flowers lift their heads from the +ground, the grass grows thick and green. My +voice recalls the birds, and they come flying +joyfully from the Southland. The warmth of my +breath unbinds the streams, and they sing the +songs of summer. Music fills the groves where- +ever I walk, and all nature rejoices.'' + +And while they were talking thus a wonderful +change took place. The sun began to rise. A gentle +warmth stole over the place. Peboan, the +Spirit of Winter, became silent. His head drooped, +and the snow outside the lodge melted away. +Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring, grew more radiant, +and rose joyfully to his feet. The robin and +the bluebird began to sing on the top of the lodge. +The stream began to murmur at the door, and +the fragrance of opening flowers came softly on +the breeze. + +The lodge faded away, and Peboan sank down +and dissolved into tiny streams of water, that +vanished under the brown leaves of the forest. +Thus the Spirit of Winter departed, and where +he had melted away, there the Indian children +gathered the first blossoms, fragrant and +delicately pink,--the modest Spring Beauty. + + +THE FAIRY TULIPS + +ENGLISH FOLK-TALE + +Once upon a time there was a good old woman +who lived in a little house. She had in her garden +a bed of beautiful striped tulips. + +One night she was wakened by the sounds +of sweet singing and of babies laughing. She +looked out at the window. The sounds seemed +to come from the tulip bed, but she could see +nothing. + +The next morning she walked among her +flowers, but there were no signs of any one having +been there the night before. + +On the following night she was again wakened +by sweet singing and babies laughing. She rose +and stole softly through her garden. The moon +was shining brightly on the tulip bed, and the +flowers were swaying to and fro. The old woman +looked closely and she saw, standing by each +tulip, a little Fairy mother who was crooning and +rocking the flower like a cradle, while in each +tulip-cup lay a little Fairy baby laughing and +playing. + +The good old woman stole quietly back to her +house, and from that time on she never picked +a tulip, nor did she allow her neighbors to touch +the flowers. + +The tulips grew daily brighter in color and +larger in size, and they gave out a delicious +perfume like that of roses. They began, too, to +bloom all the year round. And every night the +little Fairy mothers caressed their babies and +rocked them to sleep in the flower-cups. + +The day came when the good old woman died, +and the tulip-bed was torn up by folks who did +not know about the Fairies, and parsley was +planted there instead of the flowers. But the +parsley withered, and so did all the other plants +in the garden, and from that time nothing would +grow there. + +But the good old woman's grave grew beautiful, +for the Fairies sang above it, and kept it +green; while on the grave and all around it there +sprang up tulips, daffodils, and violets, and other +lovely flowers of spring. + + +THE STREAM THAT RAN AWAY + +BY MARY AUSTIN (ADAPTED) + +In a short and shallow canyon running eastward +toward the sun, one may find a clear, brown +stream called the Creek of Pinon Pines; that is +not because it is unusual to find pinon trees in +that country, but because there are so few of +them in the canyon of the stream. There are all +sorts higher up on the slopes,--long-leaved yellow +pines, thimble cones, tamarack, silver fir, +and Douglas spruce; but in the canyon there is +only a group of the low-headed, gray nut pines +which the earliest inhabitants of that country +called pinons. + +The Canyon of Pinon Pines has a pleasant +outlook and lies open to the sun. At the upper end +there is no more room by the stream border than +will serve for a cattle trail; willows grow in it, +choking the path of the water; there are brown +birches here and ropes of white clematis tangled +over thickets of brier rose. + +Low down, the ravine broadens out to inclose +a meadow the width of a lark's flight, blossomy +and wet and good. Here the stream ran once in +a maze of soddy banks and watered all the +ground, and afterward ran out at the canyon's +mouth across the mesa in a wash of bone-white +boulders as far as it could. That was not very +far, for it was a slender stream. It had its source +on the high crests and hollows of the near-by +mountain, in the snow banks that melted and +seeped downward through the rocks. But the +stream did not know any more of that than you +know of what happened to you before you were +born, and could give no account of itself except +that it crept out from under a great heap of +rubble far up in the Canyon of the Pinon Pines. + +And because it had no pools in it deep enough +for trout, and no trees on its borders but gray nut +pines; because, try as it might, it could never get +across the mesa to the town, the stream had fully +made up its mind to run away. + +``Pray, what good will that do you?'' said the +pines. ``If you get to the town, they will turn +you into an irrigating ditch, and set you to watering crops.'' + +``As to that,'' said the stream, ``if I once get +started I will not stop at the town.'' + +Then it would fret between its banks until the +spangled frills of the mimulus were all tattered +with its spray. Often at the end of the summer +it was worn quite thin and small with running, +and not able to do more than reach the meadow. + +``But some day,'' it whispered to the stones, +``I shall run quite away.'' + +If the stream had been inclined for it, there +was no lack of good company on its own borders. +Birds nested in the willows, rabbits came to +drink; one summer a bobcat made its lair up the +bank opposite the brown birches, and often the +deer fed in the meadow. + +In the spring of one year two old men came up +into the Canyon of Pinon Pines. They had been +miners and partners together for many years. +They had grown rich and grown poor, and had +seen many hard places and strange times. It was +a day when the creek ran clear and the south +wind smelled of the earth. Wild bees began to +whine among the willows, and the meadow +bloomed over with poppy-breasted larks. + +Then said one of the old men: ``Here is good +meadow and water enough; let us build a house +and grow trees. We are too old to dig in the +mines.'' + +``Let us set about it,'' said the other; for that +is the way with two who have been a long time +together,--what one thinks of, the other is for +doing. + +So they brought their possessions, and they +built a house by the water border and planted +trees. One of the men was all for an orchard but +the other preferred vegetables. So they did each +what he liked, and were never so happy as when +walking in the garden in the cool of the day, +touching the growing things as they walked, and +praising each other's work. + +They were very happy for three years. By +this time the stream had become so interested it +had almost forgotten about running away. But +every year it noted that a larger bit of the +meadow was turned under and planted, and more +and more the men made dams and ditches by +which to turn the water into their gardens. + +``In fact,'' said the stream, ``I am being made +into an irrigating ditch before I have had my +fling in the world. I really must make a start.'' + +That very winter, by the help of a great storm, +the stream went roaring down the meadow, over +the mesa, and so clean away, with only a track +of muddy sand to show the way it had gone. + +All that winter the two men brought water for +drinking from a spring, and looked for the stream +to come back. In the spring they hoped still, for +that was the season they looked for the orchard +to bear. But no fruit grew on the trees, and the +seeds they planted shriveled in the earth. So by +the end of summer, when they understood that +the water would not come back at all, they went +sadly away. + +Now the Creek of Pinon Pines did not have +a happy time. It went out in the world on the +wings of the storm, and was very much tossed +about and mixed up with other waters, lost and +bewildered. + +Everywhere it saw water at work, turning +mills, watering fields, carrying trade, falling as +hail, rain, and snow; and at the last, after many +journeys it found itself creeping out from under +the rocks of the same old mountain, in the Canyon +of Pinon Pines. + +``After all, home is best,'' said the little stream +to itself, and ran about in its choked channels +looking for old friends. + +The willows were there, but grown shabby and +dying at the top; the birches were quite dead, and +there was only rubbish where the white clematis +had been. Even the rabbits had gone away. + +The little stream ran whimpering in the meadow, +fumbling at the ruined ditches to comfort the +fruit trees which were not quite dead. It was +very dull in those days living in the Canyon of +Pinon Pines. + +``But it is really my own fault,'' said the +stream. So it went on repairing the borders as +best it could. + +About the time the white clematis had come +back to hide the ruin of the brown birches, a +young man came and camped with his wife and +child in the meadow. They were looking for a +place to make a home. + +``What a charming place!'' said the young +wife; ``just the right distance from town, and a +stream all to ourselves. And look, there are fruit +trees already planted. Do let us decide to stay!'' + +Then she took off the child's shoes and stockings +to let it play in the stream. The water curled +all about the bare feet and gurgled delightedly. + +``Ah, do stay,'' begged the happy water. ``I +can be such a help to you, for I know how a garden +should be irrigated in the best manner.'' + +The child laughed, and stamped the water up +to his bare knees. The young wife watched anxiously +while her husband walked up and down the +stream border and examined the fruit trees. + +``It is a delightful place,'' he said, ``and the soil +is rich, but I am afraid the water cannot be depended +upon. There are signs of a great drought +within the last two or three years. Look, there +is a clump of birches in the very path of the +stream, but all dead; and the largest limbs of the +fruit trees have died. In this country one must +be able to make sure of the water-supply. I suppose +the people who planted them must have +abandoned the place when the stream went dry. +We must go on farther.'' + +So they took their goods and the child and went +on farther. + +``Ah, well,'' said the stream, ``that is what is to +be expected when has a reputation for neglecting +one's duty. But I wish they had stayed. +That baby and I understood each other.'' + +It had made up its mind not to run away again, +though it could not be expected to be quite +cheerful after all that had happened. If you go +to the Canyon of Pinon Pines you will notice that +the stream, where it goes brokenly about the +meadow, has a mournful sound. + + +THE ELVES + +AN IROQUOIS LEGEND + +BY HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE (ADAPTED) + +The little Elves of Darkness, so says the old +Iroquois grandmother, were wise and mysterious. +They dwelt under the earth, where were deep +forests and broad plains. There they kept +captive all the evil things that wished to injure +human beings,--the venomous reptiles, the wicked +spiders, and the fearful monsters. Sometimes one +of these evil creatures escaped and rushed upward +to the bright, pure air, and spread its poisonous +breath over the living things of the upper-world. +But such happenings were rare, for the Elves of +Darkness were faithful and strong, and did not +willingly allow the wicked beasts and reptiles to +harm human beings and the growing things. + +When the night was lighted by the moon's +soft rays, and the woods of the upper-world were +sweet with the odor of the spring-flowers, then +the Elves of Darkness left the under-world, and +creeping from their holes, held a festival in +the woods. And under many a tree, where the +blades of grass had refused to grow, the Little +People danced until rings of green sprang up +beneath their feet. And to the festival came the +Elves of Light,--among whom were Tree-Elves, +Flower-Elves, and Fruit-Elves. They too danced +and made merry. + +But when the moonlight faded away, and day +began to break, then the Elves of Darkness +scampered back to their holes, and returned once +more to the under-world; while the Elves of Light +began their daily tasks. + +For in the springtime these Little People of the +Light hid in sheltered places. They listened to +the complaints of the seeds that lay covered in +the ground, and they whispered to the earth until +the seeds burst their pods and sent their shoots +upward to the light. Then the little Elves +wandered over the fields and through the woods, +bidding all growing things to look upon the sun. + +The Tree-Elves tended the trees, unfolding +their leaves, and feeding their roots with sap +from the earth. The Flower-Elves unwrapped +the baby buds, and tinted the petals of the +opening flowers, and played with the bees and the +butterflies. + +But the busiest of all were the Fruit-Elves. +Their greatest care in the spring was the strawberry +plant. When the ground softened from the +frost, the Fruit-Elves loosened the earth around +each strawberry root, that its shoots might push +through to the light. They shaped the plant's +leaves, and turned its blossoms toward the warm +rays of the sun. They trained its runners, and +assisted the timid fruit to form. They painted +the luscious berry, and bade it ripen. And when +the first strawberries blushed on the vines, these +guardian Elves protected them from the evil +insects that had escaped from the world of darkness +underground. + +And the old Iroquois grandmother tells, how +once, when the fruit first came to earth, the Evil +Spirit, Hahgwehdaetgah, stole the strawberry +plant, and carried it to his gloomy cave, where +he hid it away. And there it lay until a tiny +sunbeam pierced the damp mould, and finding +the little vine carried it back to its sunny fields. +And ever since then the strawberry plant has +lived and thrived in the fields and woods. But +the Fruit-Elves, fearing lest the Evil One should +one day steal the vine again, watch day and +night over their favorite. And when the +strawberries ripen they give the juicy, fragrant fruit +to the Iroquois children as they gather the spring +flowers in the woods. + + +THE CANYON FLOWERS + +BY RALPH CONNOR (ADAPTED) + +At first there were no canyons, but only the broad, +open prairie. One day the Master of the Prairie, +walking out over his great lawns, where were only +grasses, asked the Prairie: ``Where are your +flowers?'' + +And the Prairie said: ``Master, I have no seeds.'' + +Then he spoke to the birds, and they carried +seeds of every kind of flower and strewed them +far and wide, and soon the Prairie bloomed with +crocuses and roses and buffalo beans and the +yellow crowfoot and the wild sunflowers and the +red lilies, all the summer long. + +Then the Master came and was well pleased; +but he missed the flowers he loved best of all, +and he said to the Prairie: ``Where are the +clematis and the columbine, the sweet violets +and wind-flowers, and all the ferns and flowering +shrubs?'' + +And again the Prairie answered: ``Master, I +have no seeds.'' + +And again he spoke to the birds and again they +carried all the seeds and strewed them far and wide. + +But when next the Master came, he could not +find the flowers he loved best of all, and he said: +``Where are those, my sweetest flowers?'' + +And the Prairie cried sorrowfully: ``O Master, +I cannot keep the flowers, for the winds sweep +fiercely, and the sun beats upon my breast, and +they wither up and fly away.'' + +Then the Master spoke to the Lightning, and +with one swift blow the Lightning cleft the +Prairie to the heart. And the Prairie rocked and +groaned in agony, and for many a day moaned +bitterly over its black, jagged, gaping wound. + +But a little river poured its waters through the +cleft, and carried down deep, black mould, and +once more the birds carried seeds and strewed +them in the canyon. And after a long time the +rough rocks were decked out with soft mosses +and trailing vines, and all the nooks were hung +with clematis and columbine, and great elms +lifted their huge tops high up into the sunlight, +and down about their feet clustered the low +cedars and balsams, and everywhere the violets +and wind-flowers and maiden-hair grew and +bloomed till the canyon became the Master's +place for rest and peace and joy. + + +CLYTIE, THE HELIOTROPE + +BY OVID (ADAPTED) + +There was once a Nymph named Clytie, who +gazed ever at Apollo as he drove his sun-chariot +through the heavens. She watched him as he +rose in the east attended by the rosy-fingered +Dawn and the dancing Hours. She gazed as he +ascended the heavens, urging his steeds still +higher in the fierce heat of the noonday. She +looked with wonder as at evening he guided his +steeds downward to their many-colored pastures +under the western sky, where they fed all night on +ambrosia. + +Apollo saw not Clytie. He had no thought for +her, but he shed his brightest beams upon her +sister the white Nymph Leucothoe. And when +Clytie perceived this she was filled with envy +and grief. + +Night and day she sat on the bare ground +weeping. For nine days and nine nights she +never raised herself from the earth, nor did she +take food or drink; but ever she turned her +weeping eyes toward the sun-god as he moved through +the sky. + +And her limbs became rooted to the ground. +Green leaves enfolded her body. Her beautiful +face was concealed by tiny flowers, violet-colored +and sweet with perfume. Thus was she changed +into a flower and her roots held her fast to the +ground; but ever she turned her blossom-covered +face toward the sun, following with eager gaze +his daily flight. In vain were her sorrow and +tears, for Apollo regarded her not. + +And so through the ages has the Nymph turned +her dew-washed face toward the heavens, and +men no longer call her Clytie, but the sun-flower, +heliotrope. + + +HYACINTHUS + +BY OVID (ADAPTED) + +Once when the golden-beamed Apollo roamed +the earth, he made a companion of Hyacinthus, +the son of King Amyclas of Lacedaemon; and him +he loved with an exceeding great love, for the lad +was beautiful beyond compare. + +The sun-god threw aside his lyre, and became +the daily comrade of Hyacinthus. Often they +played games, or climbed the rugged mountain +ridges. Together they followed the chase or +fished in the quiet and shadowy pools; and the +sun-god, unmindful of his dignity, carried the +lad's nets and held his dogs. + +It happened on a day that the two friends +stripped off their garments, rubbed the juice of +the olive upon their bodies, and engaged in throwing +the quoit. First Apollo poised it and tossed +it far. It cleaved the air with its weight and fell +heavily to earth. At that moment Hyacinthus +ran forwards and hastened to take up the disc, +but the hard earth sent it rebounding straight +into his face, so that he fell wounded to the +ground. + +Ah! then, pale and fearful, the sun-god +hastened to the side of his fallen friend. He bore up +the lad's sinking limbs and strove to stanch his +wound with healing herbs. All in vain! Alas! the +wound would not close. And as violets and lilies, +when their stems are crushed, hang their languid +blossoms on their stalks and wither away, +so did Hyacinthus droop his beautiful head and +die. + +Then the sun-god, full of grief, cried aloud in +his anguish: ``O Beloved! thou fallest in thy +early youth, and I alone am the cause of thy +destruction! Oh, that I could give my life for thee +or with thee! but since Fate will not permit this, +thou shalt ever be with me, and thy praise shall +dwell on my lips. My lyre struck with my hand, +my songs, too, shall celebrate thee! And thou, +dear lad, shalt become a new flower, and on thy +leaves will I write my lamentations.'' + +And even as the sun-god spoke, behold! the +blood that had flowed from Hyacinthus's wound +stained the grass, and a flower, like a lily in shape, +sprang up, more bright than Tyrian purple. On +its leaves did Apollo inscribe the mournful +characters: ``ai, ai,'' which mean ``alas! alas!'' + +And as oft as the spring drives away the winter, +so oft does Hyacinthus blossom in the fresh, +green grass. + + +ECHO AND NARCISSUS + +BY OVID (ADAPTED) + +Long ago, in the ancient world, there was born +to the blue-eyed Nymph Liriope, a beautiful boy, +whom she called Narcissus. An oracle foretold at +his birth that he should be happy and live to a +good old age if he ``never saw himself.'' As this +prophecy seemed ridiculous his mother soon forgot +all about it. + +Narcissus grew to be a stately, handsome +youth. His limbs were firm and straight. Curls +clustered about his white brow, and his eyes +shone like two stars. He loved to wander among +the meadow flowers and in the pathless woodland. +But he disdained his playmates, and would not +listen to their entreaties to join in their games. +His heart was cold, and in it was neither hate nor +love. He lived indifferent to youth or maid, to +friend or foe. + +Now, in the forest near by dwelt a Nymph +named Echo. She had been a handmaiden of +the goddess Juno. But though the Nymph was +beautiful of face, she was not loved. She had +a noisy tongue. She told lies and whispered +slanders, and encouraged the other Nymphs in +many misdoings. So when Juno perceived all +this, she ordered the troublesome Nymph away +from her court, and banished her to the wildwood, +bidding her never speak again except in +imitation of other peoples' words. So Echo dwelt +in the woods, and forever mocked the words of +youths and maidens. + +One day as Narcissus was wandering alone in +the pathless forest, Echo, peeping from behind +a tree, saw his beauty, and as she gazed her heart +was filled with love. Stealthily she followed his +footsteps, and often she tried to call to him with +endearing words, but she could not speak, for she +no longer had a voice of her own. + +At last Narcissus heard the sound of breaking +branches, and he cried out: ``Is there any one +here?'' + +And Echo answered softly: ``Here!'' + +Narcissus, amazed, looking about on all sides +and seeing no one, cried: ``Come!'' + +And Echo answered: ``Come!'' + +Narcissus cried again: ``Who art thou? Whom +seekest thou?'' + +And Echo answered: ``Thou!'' + +Then rushing from among the trees she tried +to throw her arms about his neck, but Narcissus +fled through the forest, crying: ``Away! away! +I will die before I love thee!'' + +And Echo answered mournfully: ``I love +thee!'' + +And thus rejected, she hid among the trees, and +buried her blushing face in the green leaves. And +she pined, and pined, until her body wasted quite +away, and nothing but her voice was left. And +some say that even to this day her voice lives in +lonely caves and answers men's words from afar. + +Now, when Narcissus fled from Echo, he came +to a clear spring, like silver. Its waters were +unsullied, for neither goats feeding upon the +mountains nor any other cattle had drunk from it, +nor had wild beasts or birds disturbed it, nor had +branch or leaf fallen into its calm waters. The +trees bent above and shaded it from the hot sun, +and the soft, green grass grew on its margin. + +Here Narcissus, fatigued and thirsty after his +flight, laid himself down beside the spring to +drink. He gazed into the mirror-like water, and +saw himself reflected in its tide. He knew not +that it was his own image, but thought that he +saw a youth living in the spring. + +He gazed on two eyes like stars, on graceful +slender fingers, on clustering curls worthy of +Apollo, on a mouth arched like Cupid's bow, on +blushing cheeks and ivory neck. And as he gazed +his cold heart grew warm, and love for this beautiful +reflection rose up and filled his soul. + +He rained kisses on the deceitful stream. He +thrust his arms into the water, and strove to +grasp the image by the neck, but it fled away. +Again he kissed the stream, but the image mocked +his love. And all day and all night, lying there +without food or drink, he continued to gaze into +the water. Then raising himself, he stretched +out his arms to the trees about him, and cried:-- + +``Did ever, O ye woods, one love as much as I! +Have ye ever seen a lover thus pine for the sake +of unrequited affection?'' + +Then turning once more, Narcissus addressed +his reflection in the limpid stream:-- + +``Why, dear youth, dost thou flee away from +me? Neither a vast sea, nor a long way, nor a +great mountain separates us! only a little water +keeps us apart! Why, dear lad, dost thou deceive +me, and whither dost thou go when I try +to grasp thee? Thou encouragest me with +friendly looks. When I extend my arms, thou +extendest thine; when I smile, thou smilest in +return; when I weep, thou weepest; but when +I try to clasp thee beneath the stream, thou +shunnest me and fleest away! Grief is taking +my strength, and my life will soon be over! In +my early days am I cut off, nor is Death grievous +to me, now that he is about to remove my +sorrows!'' + +Thus mourned Narcissus, lying beside the +woodland spring. He disturbed the water with +his tears, and made the woods to resound with +his sighs. And as the yellow wax is melted by the +fire, or the hoar frost is consumed by the heat of +the sun, so did Narcissus pine away, his body +wasting by degrees. + +And often as he sighed: ``Alas!'' the grieving +Echo from the wood answered: ``Alas!'' + +With his last breath he looked into the water +and sighed: ``Ah, youth beloved, farewell!'' and +Echo sighed: ``Farewell!'' + +And Narcissus, laying his weary head upon the +grass, closed his eyes forever. The Water-Nymphs +wept for him, and the Wood-Dryads lamented +him, and Echo resounded their mourning. But +when they sought his body it had vanished away, +and in its stead had grown up by the brink of the +stream a little flower, with silver leaves and +golden heart,--and thus was born to earth the +woodland flower, Narcissus. + + + +MOTHERS' DAY + +(SECOND SUNDAY IN MAY) + +THE LARK AND ITS YOUNG ONES + +A HINDU FABLE + +BY P. V. RAMASWAMI RAJU (ADAPTED) + +A child went up to a lark and said: ``Good lark, +have you any young ones?'' + +``Yes, child, I have,'' said the mother lark, ``and +they are very pretty ones, indeed.'' Then she +pointed to the little birds and said: ``This is Fair +Wing, that is Tiny Bill, and that other is Bright +Eyes.'' + +``At home, we are three,'' said the child, +``myself and two sisters. Mother says that we are +pretty children, and she loves us.'' + +To this the little larks replied: ``Oh, yes, OUR +mother is fond of us, too.'' + +``Good mother lark,'' said the child, ``will you +let Tiny Bill go home with me and play?'' + +Before the mother lark could reply, Bright +Eyes said: ``Yes, if you will send your little sister +to play with us in our nest.'' + +``Oh, she will be so sorry to leave home,'' +said the child; ``she could not come away from +our mother.'' + +``Tiny Bill will be so sorry to leave our nest,'' +answered Bright Eyes, ``and he will not go away +from OUR mother.'' + +Then the child ran away to her mother, saying: +``Ah, every one is fond of home!'' + + +CORNELIA'S JEWELS + +BY JAMES BALDWIN[3] + +[3] From Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Copyright, 1896, by +American Book Company. + + +It was a bright morning in the old city of Rome +many hundred years ago. In a vine-covered summer- +house in a beautiful garden, two boys were +standing. They were looking at their mother and +her friend, who were walking among the flowers +and trees. + +``Did you ever see so handsome a lady as our +mother's friend?'' asked the younger boy, holding +his tall brother's hand. ``She looks like a +queen.'' + +``Yet she is not so beautiful as our mother,'' +said the elder boy. ``She has a fine dress, it is +true; but her face is not noble and kind. It is our +mother who is like a queen.'' + +``That is true,'' said the other. ``There is no +woman in Rome so much like a queen as our own +dear mother.'' + +Soon Cornelia, their mother, came down the +walk to speak with them. She was simply dressed +in a plain, white robe. Her arms and feet were +bare, as was the custom in those days; and no +rings or chains glittered about her hands and +neck. For her only crown, long braids of soft +brown hair were coiled about her head; and a +tender smile lit up her noble face as she looked +into her sons' proud eyes. + +``Boys,'' she said, ``I have something to tell +you.'' + +They bowed before her, as Roman lads were +taught to do, and said: ``What is it, mother?'' + +``You are to dine with us to-day, here in the +garden; and then our friend is going to show us +that wonderful casket of jewels of which you have +heard so much.'' + +The brothers looked shyly at their mother's +friend. Was it possible that she had still other +rings besides those on her fingers? Could she +have other gems besides those which sparkled in +the chains about her neck? + +When the simple outdoor meal was over, a +servant brought the casket from the house. The +lady opened it. Ah, how those jewels dazzled the +eyes of the wondering boys! There were ropes of +pearls, white as milk, and smooth as satin; heaps +of shining rubies, red as the glowing coals; +sapphires as blue as the sky that summer day; and +diamonds that flashed and sparkled like the sunlight. + +The brothers looked long at the gems. ``Ah!'' +whispered the younger; ``if our mother could only +have such beautiful things!'' + +At last, however, the casket was closed and +carried carefully away. + +``Is it true, Cornelia, that you have no jewels?'' +asked her friend. ``Is it true, as I have heard it +whispered, that you are poor?'' + +``No, I am not poor,'' answered Cornelia, and +as she spoke she drew her two boys to her side; +``for here are my jewels. They are worth more +than all your gems.'' + +The boys never forgot their mother's pride and +love and care; and in after years, when they had +become great men in Rome, they often thought +of this scene in the garden. And the world still +likes to hear the story of Cornelia's jewels. + + +QUEEN MARGARET AND THE +ROBBERS + +BY ALBERT F. BLAISDELL (ADAPTED) + +One day when roses were in bloom, two noblemen +came to angry words in the Temple Gardens, by +the side of the river Thames. In the midst of +their quarrel one of them plucked a white rose +from a bush, and, turning to those who were +near him, said:-- + +``He who will stand by me in this quarrel, let +him pluck a white rose with me, and wear it in +his hat.'' + +Then the other gentleman tore a red rose from +another bush, and said:-- + +``Let him who will stand by me pluck a red +rose, and wear it as his badge.'' + +Now this quarrel led to a great civil war, which +was called ``The War of the Roses,'' for every +soldier wore a white or red rose in his helmet to +show to which side he belonged. + +The leaders of the ``Red Rose'' sided with +King Henry the Sixth and his wife, Queen Margaret, +who were fighting for the English throne. +Many great battles were fought, and wicked +deeds were done in those dreadful times. + +In a battle at a place called Hexham, the king's +party was beaten, and Queen Margaret and her +little son, the Prince of Wales, had to flee for +their lives. They had not gone far before they +met a band of robbers, who stopped the queen +and stole all her rich jewels, and, holding a drawn +sword over her head, threatened to take her life +and that of her child. + +The poor queen, overcome by terror, fell upon +her knees and begged them to spare her only son, +the little prince. But the robbers, turning from +her, began to fight among themselves as to how +they should divide the plunder, and, drawing +their weapons, they attacked one another. When +the queen saw what was happening she sprang +to her feet, and, taking the prince by the hand, +made haste to escape. + +There was a thick wood close by, and the +queen plunged into it, but she was sorely afraid +and trembled in every limb, for she knew that +this wood was the hiding-place of robbers and +outlaws. Every tree seemed to her excited fancy +to be an armed man waiting to kill her and her +little son. + +On and on she went through the dark wood, +this way and that, seeking some place of shelter, +but not knowing where she was going. At last +she saw by the light of the moon a tall, fierce- +looking man step out from behind a tree. He +came directly toward her, and she knew by his +dress that he was an outlaw. But thinking that +he might have children of his own, she determined +to throw herself and her son upon his +mercy. + +When he came near she addressed him in a +calm voice and with a stately manner. + +``Friend,'' said she, ``I am the queen. Kill me +if thou wilt, but spare my son, thy prince. Take +him, I will trust him to thee. Keep him safe from +those that seek his life, and God will have pity +on thee for all thy sins.'' + +The words of the queen moved the heart of the +outlaw. He told her that he had once fought on +her side, and was now hiding from the soldiers of +the ``White Rose.'' He then lifted the little prince +in his arms, and, bidding the queen follow, led the +way to a cave in the rocks. There he gave them +food and shelter, and kept them safe for two days, +when the queen's friends and attendants, discovering +their hiding-place, came and took them far +away. + +If you ever go to Hexham Forest, you may see +this robber's cave. It is on the bank of a little +stream that flows at the foot of a hill, and to this +day the people call it ``Queen Margaret's Cave.'' + + +THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS + +BY CHARLES MORRIS (ADAPTED) + +Caius Marcius was a noble Roman youth, who +fought valiantly, when but seventeen years of +age, in the battle of Lake Regillus, and was there +crowned with an oaken wreath, the Roman reward +for saving the life of a fellow soldier. This +he showed with joy to his mother, Volumnia, +whom he loved exceedingly, it being his greatest +pleasure to receive praise from her lips. + +He afterward won many more crowns in battle, +and became one of the most famous of Roman +soldiers. One of his memorable exploits took +place during a war with the Volscians, in which +the Romans attacked the city of Corioli. Through +Caius's bravery the place was taken, and the +Roman general said: ``Henceforth, let him be +called after the name of this city.'' So ever after +he was known as Caius Marcius Coriolanus. + +Courage was not the only marked quality of +Coriolanus. His pride was equally great. He was +a noble of the nobles, so haughty in demeanor and +so disdainful of the commons that they grew to +hate him bitterly. + +At length came a time of great scarcity of food. +The people were on the verge of famine, to relieve +which shiploads of corn were sent from Sicily to +Rome. The Senate resolved to distribute this +corn among the suffering people, but Coriolanus +opposed this, saying: ``If they want corn, let +them promise to obey the Patricians, as their +fathers did. Let them give up their tribunes. If +they do this we will let them have corn, and take +care of them.'' + +When the people heard of what the proud +noble had said, they broke into a fury, and a mob +gathered around the doors of the Senate house, +prepared to seize and tear him in pieces when +he came out. But the tribunes prevented this, +and Coriolanus fled from Rome, exiled from his +native land by his pride and disdain of the +people. + +The exile made his way to the land of the +Volscians and became the friend of Rome's great +enemy, whom he had formerly helped to conquer. +He aroused the Volscians' ire against Rome, to +a greater degree than before, and placing himself +at the head of a Volscian army greater than +the Roman forces, marched against his native +city. The army swept victoriously onward, +taking city after city, and finally encamping within +five miles of Rome. + +The approach of this powerful host threw the +Romans into dismay. They had been assailed so +suddenly that they had made no preparations for +defense, and the city seemed to lie at the mercy +of its foes. The women ran to the temples to +pray for the favor of the gods. The people +demanded that the Senate should send deputies +to the invading army to treat for peace. + +The Senate, no less frightened than the people, +obeyed, sending five leading Patricians to the +Volscian camp. These deputies were haughtily +received by Coriolanus, who offered them such +severe terms that they were unable to accept +them. They returned and reported the matter, +and the Senate was thrown into confusion. The +deputies were sent again, instructed to ask for +gentler terms, but now Coriolanus refused even +to let them enter his camp. This harsh repulse +plunged Rome into mortal terror. + +All else having failed, the noble women of +Rome, with Volumnia, the mother of Coriolanus, +at their head, went in procession from the city to +the Volscian camp to pray for mercy. + +It was a sad and solemn spectacle, as this train +of noble ladies, clad in their habiliments of woe, +and with bent heads and sorrowful faces, wound +through the hostile camp, from which they were +not excluded as the deputies had been. Even the +Volscian soldiers watched them with pitying eyes, +and spoke no scornful word as they moved slowly +past. + +On reaching the midst of the camp, they saw +Coriolanus on the general's seat, with the Volscian +chiefs gathered around him. At first he wondered +who these women could be; but when they came +near, and he saw his mother at the head of the +train, his deep love for her welled up so strongly +in his heart that he could not restrain himself, +but sprang up and ran to meet and kiss her. + +The Roman matron stopped him with a dignified +gesture. ``Ere you kiss me,'' she said, ``let +me know whether I speak to an enemy or to my +son; whether I stand here as your prisoner or +your mother.'' + +He stood before her in silence, with bent head, +and unable to answer. + +``Must it, then, be that if I had never borne a +son, Rome would have never seen the camp of +an enemy?'' said Volumnia, in sorrowful tones. + +``But I am too old to endure much longer your +shame and my misery. Think not of me, but of +your wife and children, whom you would doom +to death or to life in bondage.'' + +Then Virgilia, his wife, and his children, came +forward and kissed him, and all the noble ladies +in the train burst into tears and bemoaned the +peril of their country. + +Coriolanus still stood silent, his face working +with contending thoughts. At length he cried +out in heart-rending accents: ``O mother! What +have you done to me?'' + +Then clasping her hand he wrung it vehemently, +saying: ``Mother, the victory is yours! +A happy victory for you and Rome! but shame +and ruin for your son.'' + +Thereupon he embraced her with yearning +heart, and afterward clasped his wife and children +to his breast, bidding them return with their +tale of conquest to Rome. As for himself, he said, +only exile and shame remained. + +Before the women reached home, the army of +the Volscians was on its homeward march. Coriolanus +never led it against Rome again. He lived +and died in exile, far from his wife and children. + +The Romans, to honor Volumnia, and those +who had gone with her to the Volscian camp, +built a temple to ``Woman's Fortune,'' on the +spot where Coriolanus had yielded to his mother's +entreaties. + + +THE WIDOW AND HER THREE SONS + +(ADAPTED) + +One day a poor woman approached Mr. Lincoln +for an interview. She was somewhat advanced +in years and plainly clad, wearing a faded shawl +and worn hood. + +``Well, my good woman,'' said Mr. Lincoln, +``what can I do for you this morning?'' + +``Mr. President,'' answered she, ``my husband +and three sons all went into the army. My husband +was killed in the battle of----. I get along +very badly since then living all alone, and I +thought that I would come and ask you to release +to me my eldest son.'' + +Mr. Lincoln looked in her face for a moment, +and then replied kindly:-- + +``Certainly! Certainly! If you have given us +ALL, and your prop has been taken away, you are +justly entitled to one of your boys.'' + +He then made out an order discharging the +young man, which the woman took away, thanking +him gratefully. + +She went to the front herself with the +President's order, and found that her son had been +mortally wounded in a recent battle, and taken +to the hospital. + +She hastened to the hospital. But she was too +late, the boy died, and she saw him laid in a +soldier's grave. + +She then returned to the President with his +order, on the back of which the attendant surgeon +had stated the sad facts concerning the +young man it was intended to discharge. + +Mr. Lincoln was much moved by her story, and +said: ``I know what you wish me to do now, and +I shall do it without your asking. I shall release +to you your second son.'' + +Taking up his pen he began to write the order, +while the grief-stricken woman stood at his side +and passed her hand softly over his head, and +stroked his rough hair as she would have stroked +her boy's. + +When he had finished he handed her the paper, +saying tenderly, his eyes full of tears:-- + +``Now you have one of the two left, and I have +one, that is no more than right.'' + +She took the order and reverently placing her +hand upon his head, said:-- + +``The Lord bless you, Mr. President. May you +live a thousand years, and may you always be the +head of this great nation.'' + + + +MEMORIAL DAY + +(APRIL OR MAY) + +FLAG DAY + +(JUNE 14) + + +BETSY ROSS AND THE FLAG + +BY HARRY PRINGLE FORD (ADAPTED) + +On the 14th day of June, 1777, the Continental +Congress passed the following resolution: +``RESOLVED, That the flag of the thirteen United States +be thirteen stripes alternate red and white; that +the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, +representing a new constellation.'' + +We are told that previous to this, in 1776, a +committee was appointed to look after the matter, +and together with General Washington they +called at the house of Betsy Ross, 239 Arch +Street, Philadelphia. + +Betsy Ross was a young widow of twenty-four +heroically supporting herself by continuing the +upholstery business of her late husband, young +John Ross, a patriot who had died in the service +of his country. Betsy was noted for her exquisite +needlework, and was engaged in the flag-making +business. + +The committee asked her if she thought she +could make a flag from a design, a rough drawing +of which General Washington showed her. She +replied, with diffidence, that she did not know +whether she could or not, but would try. She +noticed, however, that the star as drawn had +six points, and informed the committee that the +correct star had but five. They answered that +as a great number of stars would be required, the +more regular form with six points could be more +easily made than one with five. + +She responded in a practical way by deftly +folding a scrap of paper; then with a single clip +of her scissors she displayed a true, symmetrical, +five-pointed star. + +This decided the committee in her favor. A +rough design was left for her use, but she was +permitted to make a sample flag according to her +own ideas of the arrangement of the stars and the +proportions of the stripes and the general form +of the whole. + +Sometime after its completion it was presented +to Congress, and the committee had the pleasure +of informing Betsy Ross that her flag was +accepted as the Nation's standard. + + +THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER + +BY EVA MARCH TAPPAN (ADAPTED) + +In 1814, while the War of 1812 was still going +on, the people of Maryland were in great trouble, +for a British fleet began to attack Baltimore. The +enemy bombarded the forts, including Fort McHenry. +For twenty-four hours the terrific bombardment went on. + +``If Fort McHenry only stands, the city is safe,'' +said Francis Scott Key to a friend, and they gazed +anxiously through the smoke to see if the flag was +still flying. + +These two men were in the strangest place that +could be imagined. They were in a little American +vessel fast moored to the side of the British +admiral's flagship. A Maryland doctor had been +seized as a prisoner by the British, and the +President had given permission for them to go out under +a flag of truce, to ask for his release. The British +commander finally decided that the prisoner might +be set free; but he had no idea of allowing the two +men to go back to the city and carry any +information. ``Until the attack on Baltimore is ended, +you and your boat must remain here,'' he said. + +The firing went on. As long as daylight lasted +they could catch glimpses of the Stars and Stripes +whenever the wind swayed the clouds of smoke. +When night came they could still see the banner +now and then by the blaze of the cannon. A little +after midnight the firing stopped. The two men +paced up and down the deck, straining their eyes +to see if the flag was still flying. ``Can the fort +have surrendered?'' they questioned. ``Oh, if +snorning would only come!'' + +At last the faint gray of dawn appeared. They +could see that some flag was flying, but it was too +dark to tell which. More and more eagerly they +gazed. It grew lighter, a sudden breath of wind +caught the flag, and it floated out on the breeze. +It was no English flag, it was their own Stars and +Stripes. The fort had stood, the city was safe. +Then it was that Key took from his pocket an old +letter and on the back of it he wrote the poem, +``The Star-Spangled Banner.'' + +The British departed, and the little American +boat went back to the city. Mr. Key gave a copy +of the poem to his uncle, who had been helping to +defend the fort. The uncle sent it to the printer, +and had it struck off on some handbills. Before +the ink was dry the printer caught up one and +hurried away to a restaurant, where many patriots +were assembled. Waving the paper, he +cried, ``Listen to this!'' and he read:-- + + ``O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, + What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, + Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous +fight, + O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming? + And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, + Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. + O say, does the star-spangled banner yet wave + O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?'' + + +``Sing it! sing it!'' cried the whole company. +Charles Durang mounted a chair and then for the +first time ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' was sung. +The tune was ``To Anacreon in Heaven,'' an air +which had long been a favorite. Halls, theaters, +and private houses rang with its strains. + +The fleet was out of sight even before the poem +was printed. In the middle of the night the admiral +had sent to the British soldiers this message, +``I can do nothing more,'' and they hurried on +board the vessels. It was not long before they left +Chesapeake Bay altogether,--perhaps with the +new song ringing in their ears as they went. + + +THE LITTLE DRUMMER-BOY + +BY ALBERT BUSHNELL HART (ADAPTED) + +A few days before a certain regiment received +orders to join General Lyon, on his march to +Wilson's Creek, the drummer-boy of the regiment +was taken sick, and carried to the hospital. + +Shortly after this there appeared before the +captain's quarters, during the beating of the +reveille, a good-looking, middle-aged woman, +dressed in deep mourning, leading by the hand +a sharp, sprightly looking boy, apparently about +twelve or thirteen years of age. + +Her story was soon told. She was from East +Tennessee, where her husband had been killed +by the Confederates, and all her property +destroyed. Being destitute, she thought that if she +could procure a situation for her boy as drummer, +she could find employment for herself. + +While she told her story, the little fellow kept +his eyes intently fixed upon the countenance of +the captain. And just as the latter was about to +say that he could not take so small a boy, the lad +spoke out:-- + +``Don't be afraid, Captain,'' said he, ``I can +drum.'' + +This was spoken with so much confidence that +the captain smiled and said to the sergeant:-- + +``Well, well, bring the drum, and order our +fifer to come here.'' + +In a few moments a drum was produced and +the fifer, a round-shouldered, good-natured fellow, +who stood six feet tall, made his appearance. +Upon being introduced to the lad, he stooped +down, resting his hands on his knees, and, after +peering into the little fellow's face for a moment, +said:-- + +``My little man, can you drum?'' + +``Yes, sir,'' answered the boy promptly. ``I +drummed for Captain Hill in Tennessee.'' + +The fifer immediately straightened himself, +and, placing his fife to his lips, played the ``Flowers +of Edinburgh,'' one of the most difficult things to +follow with the drum. And nobly did the little +fellow follow him, showing himself to be master of +the drum. + +When the music ceased the captain turned to +the mother and observed:-- + +``Madam, I will take the boy. What is his +name?'' + +``Edward Lee,'' she replied. Then placing her +hand upon the captain's arm, she continued in a +choking voice, ``If he is not killed!--Captain, +--you will bring him back to me?'' + +``Yes, yes,'' he replied, ``we shall be certain to +bring him back to you. We shall be discharged +in six weeks.'' + +An hour after, the company led the regiment +out of camp, the drum and fife playing ``The Girl +I left behind me.'' + +Eddie, as the soldiers called him, soon became +a great favorite with all the men of the company. +When any of the boys returned from foraging, +Eddie's share of the peaches, melons, and other +good things was meted out first. During the +heavy and fatiguing marches, the long-legged +fifer often waded through the mud with the little +drummer mounted on his back, and in the same +fashion he carried Eddie when fording streams. + +During the fight at Wilson's Creek, a part +of the company was stationed on the right of +Totten's battery, while the balance of the company +was ordered down into a deep ravine, at the +left, in which it was known a party of Confederates +was concealed. + +An engagement took place. The contest in the +ravine continued some time. Totten suddenly +wheeled his battery upon the enemy in that +quarter, and they soon retreated to high ground +behind their lines. + +In less than twenty minutes after Totten had +driven the Confederates from the ravine, the +word passed from man to man throughout the +army, ``Lyon is killed!'' And soon after, hostilities +having ceased upon both sides, the order +came for the main part of the Federal force to +fall back upon Springfield, while the lesser part +was to camp upon the ground, and cover the +retreat. + +That night a corporal was detailed for guard +duty. His post was upon a high eminence that +overlooked the deep ravine in which the men had +engaged the enemy. It was a dreary, lonesome +beat. The hours passed slowly away, and at +length the morning light began to streak along the +western sky, making surrounding objects visible. + +Presently the corporal heard a drum beating +up the morning call. At first he thought it came +from the camp of the Confederates across the +creek, but as he listened he found that it came +from the deep ravine. For a few moments the +sound stopped, then began again. The corporal +listened closely. The notes of the drum were +familiar to him,--and then he knew that it was +the drummer-boy from Tennessee playing the +morning call. + +Just then the corporal was relieved from guard +duty, and, asking permission, went at once to +Eddie's assistance. He started down the hill, +through the thick underbrush, and upon reaching +the bottom of the ravine, he followed the sound +of the drum, and soon found the lad seated upon +the ground, his back leaning against a fallen tree, +while his drum hung upon a bush in front of him. + +As soon as the boy saw his rescuer he dropped +his drumsticks, and exclaimed:-- + +``O Corporal! I am so glad to see you! Give +me a drink.'' + +The soldier took his empty canteen, and +immediately turned to bring some water from the +brook that he could hear rippling through the +bushes near by, when, Eddie, thinking that he +was about to leave him, cried out:-- + +``Don't leave me, Corporal, I can't walk.'' + +The corporal was soon back with the water, +when he discovered that both the lad's feet had +been shot away by a cannon-ball. + +After satisfying his thirst, Eddie looked up +into the corporal's face and said:-- + +``You don't think I shall die, do you? This +man said I should not,--he said the surgeon +could cure my feet.'' + +The corporal now looked about him and +discovered a man lying in the grass near by. By his +dress he knew him to belong to the Confederate +army. It appeared that he had been shot and +had fallen near Eddie. Knowing that he could +not live, and seeing the condition of the drummer- +boy, he had crawled to him, taken off his buckskin +suspenders, and had corded the little fellow's +legs below the knees, and then he had laid +himself down and died. + +While Eddie was telling the corporal these +particulars, they heard the tramp of cavalry +coming down the ravine, and in a moment a scout +of the enemy was upon them, and took them both +prisoners. + +The corporal requested the officer in charge to +take Eddie up in front of him, and he did so, +carrying the lad with great tenderness and care. +When they reached the Confederate camp the +little fellow was dead. + + +A FLAG INCIDENT + +BY M. M. THOMAS (ADAPTED) + +When marching to Chattanooga the corps had +reached a little wooded valley between the +mountains. The colonel, with others, rode ahead, and, +striking into a bypath, suddenly came upon a +secluded little cabin surrounded by a patch of +cultivated ground. + +At the door an old woman, eighty years of age, +was supporting herself on a crutch. As they rode +up she asked if they were ``Yankees,'' and upon +their replying that they were, she said: ``Have +you got the Stars and Stripes with you? My +father fought the Tories in the Revolution, and +my old eyes ache for a sight of the true flag before +I die.'' + +To gratify her the colonel sent to have the +colors brought that way. When they were unfurled +and planted before her door, she passed +her trembling hands over them and held them +close to her eyes that she might view the stars +once more. When the band gave her ``Yankee +Doodle,'' and the ```Star-Spangled Banner,'' she +sobbed like a child, as did her daughter, a woman +of fifty, while her three little grandchildren gazed +in wonder. + +They were Eastern people, who had gone to +New Orleans to try to improve their condition. +Not being successful, they had moved from place +to place to better themselves, until finally they +had settled on this spot, the husband having taken +several acres of land here for a debt. + +Then the war burst upon them. The man fled +to the mountains to avoid the conscription, and +they knew not whether he was alive or dead. +They had managed to support life, but were so +retired that they saw very few people. + +Leaving them food and supplies, the colonel +and the corps passed on. + + +TWO HERO-STORIES OF THE CIVIL +WAR + +BY BEN LA BREE (ADAPTED) + +I. BRAVERY HONORED BY A FOE + +In a rifle-pit, on the brow of a hill near Fredericksburg, +were a number of Confederate soldiers who +had exhausted their ammunition in the vain attempt +to check the advancing column of Hooker's +finely equipped and disciplined army which was +crossing the river. To the relief of these few came +the brigade in double-quick time. But no sooner +were the soldiers intrenched than the firing on +the opposite side of the river became terrific. + +A heavy mist obscured the scene. The Federal +soldiers poured a merciless fire into the trenches. +Soon many Confederates fell, and the agonized +cries of the wounded who lay there calling for +water, smote the hearts of their helpless comrades. + +``Water! Water!'' But there was none to give, +the canteens were-empty. + +``Boys,'' exclaimed Nathan Cunningham, a +lad of eighteen, the color-bearer for his regiment, +``I can't stand this any more. They want water, +and water they must have. So let me have a few +canteens and I'll go for some.'' + +Carefully laying the colors, which he had borne +on many a field, in a trench, he seized some +canteens, and, leaping into the mist, was soon out +of sight. + +Shortly after this the firing ceased for a while, +and an order came for the men to fall back to the +main line. + +As the Confederates were retreating they met +Nathan Cunningham, his canteens full of water, +hurrying to relieve the thirst of the wounded men +in the trenches. He glanced over the passing +column and saw that the faded flag, which he had +carried so long, was not there. The men in their +haste to obey orders HAD FORGOTTEN OR OVERLOOKED +THE COLORS. + +Quickly the lad sped to the trenches, intent +now not only on giving water to his comrades, but +on rescuing the flag and so to save the honor of +his regiment. + +His mission of mercy was soon accomplished. +The wounded men drank freely. The lad then +found and seized his colors, and turned to rejoin +his regiment. Scarcely had he gone three paces +when a company of Federal soldiers appeared +ascending the hill. + +``Halt and surrender,'' came the stern command, +and a hundred rifles were leveled at the +boy's breast. + +``NEVER! while I hold the colors,'' was his firm +reply. + +The morning sun, piercing with a lurid glare +the dense mist, showed the lad proudly standing +with his head thrown back and his flag grasped +in his hand, while his unprotected breast was +exposed to the fire of his foe. + +A moment's pause. Then the Federal officer +gave his command:-- + +``Back with your pieces, men, don't shoot that +brave boy.'' + +And Nathan Cunningham, with colors flying +over his head, passed on and joined his regiment. + +His comrades in arms still tell with pride of his +brave deed and of the generous act of a foe. + + +II. THE BRAVERY OF RICHARD KIRTLAND + + +Richard Kirtland was a sergeant in the Second +Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers. The +day after the great battle of Fredericksburg, +Kershaw's brigade occupied the road at the foot +of Marye's Hill. + +One hundred and fifty yards in front of the +road, on the other side of a stone wall, lay Sykes's +division of the United States Army. Between +these troops and Kershaw's command a skirmish +fight was continued through the entire day. The +ground between the lines was literally covered +with dead and dying Federal soldiers. + +All day long the wounded were calling, ``Water! +water! water!'' + +In the afternoon, Sergeant Kirtland, a +Confederate soldier, went to the headquarters of +General Kershaw, and said with deep emotion: +``General, all through last night and to-day; I +have been hearing those poor wounded Federal +soldiers out there cry for water. Let me go and +give them some.'' + +``Don't you know,'' replied the general, ``that +you would get a bullet through you the moment +you stepped over the wall?'' + +``Yes, sir,'' said the sergeant; ``but if you will +let me go I am willing to try it.'' + +The general reflected a minute, then answered: +``Kirtland, I ought not to allow you to take this +risk, but the spirit that moves you is so noble I +cannot refuse. Go, and may God protect you!'' + +In the face of almost certain death the sergeant +climbed the wall, watched with anxiety by the +soldiers of his army. Under the curious gaze of +his foes, and exposed to their fire, he dropped to +the ground and hastened on his errand of mercy. +Unharmed, untouched, he reached the nearest +sufferer. He knelt beside him, tenderly raised his +drooping head, rested it gently on his breast, and +poured the cooling life-giving water down the +parched throat. This done he laid him carefully +down, placed the soldier's knapsack under his +head, straightened his broken limbs, spread his +coat over him, replaced the empty canteen with +a full one, then turned to another sufferer. + +By this time his conduct was understood by +friend and foe alike and the firing ceased on both +sides. + +For an hour and a half did he pursue his noble +mission, until he had relieved the wounded on all +parts of the battlefield. Then he returned to his +post uninjured. + +Surely such a noble deed is worthy of the +admiration of men and angels. + + +THE YOUNG SENTINEL + +BY Z. A. MUDGE (ADAPTED) + +In the summer of 1862, a young man belonging +to a Vermont regiment was found sleeping at his +post. He was tried and sentenced to be shot. The +day was fixed for the execution, and the young +soldier calmly prepared to meet his fate. + +Friends who knew of the case brought the +matter to Mr. Lincoln's attention. It seemed that +the boy had been on duty one night, and on the +following night he had taken the place of a comrade +too ill to stand guard. The third night he +had been again called out, and, being utterly +exhausted, had fallen asleep at his post. + +As soon as Mr. Lincoln understood the case, he +signed a pardon, and sent it to the camp. The +morning before the execution arrived, and the +President had not heard whether the pardon had +reached the officers in charge of the matter. He +began to feel uneasy. He ordered a telegram to be +sent to the camp, but received no answer. State +papers could not fix his mind, nor could he banish +the condemned soldier boy from his thoughts. + +At last, feeling that he MUST KNOW that the lad +was safe, he ordered the carriage and rode rapidly +ten miles over a dusty road and beneath a scorching +sun. When he reached the camp he found that +the pardon had been received and the execution +stayed. + +The sentinel was released, and his heart was +filled with lasting gratitude. When the campaign +opened in the spring, the young man was with his +regiment near Yorktown, Virginia. They were +ordered to attack a fort, and he fell at the first +volley of the enemy. + +His comrades caught him up and carried him +bleeding and dying from the field. ``Bear witness,'' +he said, ``that I have proved myself not +a coward, and I am not afraid to die.'' Then, +making a last effort, with his dying breath he +prayed for Abraham Lincoln. + + +THE COLONEL OF THE ZOUAVES + +BY NOAH BROOKS (ADAPTED) + +Among those who accompanied Mr. Lincoln, the +President-elect, on his journey from Illinois to +the national capital, was Elmer E. Ellsworth, a +young man who had been employed in the law +office of Lincoln and Herndon, Springfield. + +He was a brave, handsome, and impetuous +youth, and was among the first to offer his services +to the President in defense of the Union, as +soon as the mutterings of war were heard. + +Before the war he had organized a company of +Zouaves from the Chicago firemen, and had +delighted and astonished many people by the +exhibitions of their skill in the evolutions through +which they were put while visiting some chief +cities of the Republic. + +Now, being commissioned a second lieutenant in +the United States Army, he went to New York and +organized from the firemen of that city a similar +regiment, known as the Eleventh New York. + +Colonel Ellsworth's Zouaves, on the evening +of May 23, were sent with a considerable force +to occupy the heights overlooking Washington +and Alexandria, on the banks of the Potomac, +opposite the national capital. + +Next day, seeing a Confederate flag flying from +the Marshall House, a tavern in Alexandria +kept by a secessionist, he went up through the +building to the roof and pulled it down. While +on his way down the stairs, wilh the flag in his +arms, he was met by the tavern-keeper, who shot +and killed him instantly. Ellsworth fell, dyeing the +Confederate flag with the blood that gushed from +his heart. The tavern-keeper was instantly killed +by a shot from Private Brownell, of the Ellsworth +Zouaves, who was at hand when his commander fell. + +The death of Ellsworth, needless though it may +have been, caused a profound sensation throughout +the country, where he was well known. He +was among the very first martyrs of the war, as +he had been one of the first volunteers. + +Lincoln was overwhelmed with sorrow. He +had the body of the lamented young officer taken +to the White House, where it lay in state until +the burial took place, and, even in the midst of +his increasing cares, he found time to sit alone +and in grief-stricken meditation by the bier of +the dead young soldier of whose career he had +cherished so great hopes. + +The life-blood from Ellsworth's heart had +stained not only the Confederate flag, but a gold +medal found under his uniform, bearing the +legend: ``Non solum nobis, sed pro patria''; ``Not +for ourselves alone, but for the country.'' + + +GENERAL SCOTT AND THE STARS +AND STRIPES + +BY E. D. TOWNSEND (ADAPTED) + +One day, as the general was sitting at his table +in the office, the messenger announced that a +person desired to see him a moment in order to +present a gift. + +A German was introduced, who said that he +was commissioned by a house in New York to +present General Scott with a small silk banner. +It was very handsome, of the size of a regimental +flag, and was made of a single piece of silk +stamped with the Stars and Stripes of the proper +colors. + +The German said that the manufacturers who +had sent the banner, wished to express thus the +great respect they felt for General Scott, and their +sense of his importance to the country in that +perilous time. + +The general was highly pleased, and, in accepting +the gift, assured the donors that the flag +should hang in his room wherever he went, and +enshroud him when he died. + +As soon as the man was gone, the general +desired that the stars might be counted to see if +ALL the States were represented. They were ALL +there. + +The flag was then draped between the windows +over the couch where the general frequently +reclined for rest during the day. It went with him +in his berth when he sailed for Europe, after his +retirement, and enveloped his coffin when he +was interred at West Point. + + + +INDEPENDENCE DAY + +(JULY 4) + + +THE DECLARATION OF +INDEPENDENCE + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING + +While danger was gathering round New York, +and its inhabitants were in mute suspense and +fearful anticipations, the General Congress at +Philadelphia was discussing, with closed doors, +what John Adams pronounced: ``The greatest +question ever debated in America, and as great +as ever was or will be debated among men.'' The +result was, a resolution passed unanimously on +the 2d of July; ``that these United Colonies are, +and of right ought to be, free and independent +States.'' + +``The 2d of July,'' adds the same patriot +statesman, ``will be the most memorable epoch in the +history of America. I am apt to believe that it +will be celebrated by succeeding generations as +the great anniversary festival. It ought to be +commemorated as the day of deliverance, by +solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It +ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, +with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, +and illuminations, from one end of this continent +to the other, from this time forth forevermore.'' + +The glorious event has, indeed, given rise to an +annual jubilee; but not on the day designated by +Adams. The FOURTH of July is the day of national +rejoicing, for on that day the ``Declaration of +Independence,'' that solemn and sublime document, +was adopted. + +Tradition gives a dramatic effect to its +announcement. It was known to be under +discussion, but the closed doors of Congress excluded +the populace. They awaited, in throngs, an +appointed signal. In the steeple of the State House +was a bell, imported twenty-three years previously +from London by the Provincial Assembly +of Pennsylvania. It bore the portentous text from +Scripture: ``Proclaim Liberty throughout all the +land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.'' A joyous +peal from that bell gave notice that the bill +had been passed. It was the knell of British domination. + + +THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION +OF INDEPENDENCE + +BY H. A. GUERBER[4] + +[4] From The Story of the Thirteen Colonies. Copyright, 1898, by +H. A. Guerber. American Book Company, publishers. + + +John Hancock, President of Congress, was the +first to sign the Declaration of Independence, +writing his name in large, plain letters, and saying:-- + +``There! John Bull can read my name without +spectacles. Now let him double the price on my +head, for this is my defiance.'' + +Then he turned to the other members, and +solemnly declared:-- + +``We must be unanimous. There must be no +pulling different ways. We must all hang together.'' + +``Yes,'' said Franklin, quaintly: ``we must all +hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang +separately.'' + +We are told that Charles Carroll, thinking that +his writing looked shaky, added the words, ``of +Carrollton,'' so that the king should not be able +to make any mistake as to whose name stood +there. + + +A BRAVE GIRL + +BY JAMES JOHONNOT (ADAPTED)[5] + + +[5] From Stories of Heroic Deeds. Copyright, 1887, by D. Appleton +and Company. American Book Company, publishers. + + +In the year 1781 the war was chiefly carried on +in the South, but the North was constantly +troubled by bands of Tories and Indians, who +would swoop down on small settlements and make +off with whatever they could lay their hands on. + +During this time General Schuyler was staying +at his house, which stood just outside the stockade +or walls of Albany. The British commander +sent out a party of Tories and Indians to capture +the general. + +When they reached the outskirts of the city +they learned from a Dutch laborer that the +general's house was guarded by six soldiers, three +watching by night and three by day. They let +the Dutchman go, and as soon as the band was +out of sight he hastened to Albany and warned +the general of their approach. + +Schuyler gathered his family in one of the +upper rooms of his house, and giving orders that +the doors and windows should be barred, fired a +pistol from a top-story window, to alarm the +neighborhood. + +The soldiers on guard, who had been lounging +in the shade of a tree, started to their feet at +the sound of the pistol; but, alas! too late, for +they found themselves surrounded by a crowd +of dusky forms, who bound them hand and foot, +before they had time to resist. + +In the room upstairs was the sturdy general, +standing resolutely at the door, with gun in hand, +while his black slaves were gathered about him, +each with a weapon. At the other end of the room +the women were huddled together, some weeping +and some praying. + +Suddenly a deafening crash was heard. The +Indian band had broken into the house. With +loud shouts they began to pillage and to destroy +everything in sight. While they were yet busy +downstairs, Mrs. Schuyler sprang to her feet and +rushed to the door; for she had suddenly remembered +that the baby, who was only a few months old, +was asleep in its cradle in a room on the first floor. + +The general caught his wife in his arms, and +implored her not to go to certain death, saying +that if any one was to go he would. While this +generous struggle between husband and wife was +going on, their young daughter, who had been +standing near the door, glided by them, and +descended the stairs. + +All was dark in the hall, excepting where the +light shone from the dining-room in which the +Indians were pillaging the shelves and fighting over +their booty. How to get past the dining-room +door was the question, but the brave girl did not +hesitate. Reaching the lower hall, she walked +very deliberately forward, softly but quickly passing +the door, and unobserved reached the room +in which was the cradle. + +She caught up the baby, crept back past the +open door, and was just mounting the stairs, +when one of the savages happened to see her. + +``WHIZ''--and his sharp tomahawk struck the +stair rail within a few inches of the baby's head. +But the frightened girl hurried on, and in a few +seconds was safe in her father's arms. + +As for the Indians, fearing an attack from +the near-by garrison, they hastened away with +the booty they had collected, and left General +Schuyler and his family unharmed. + + +THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY + +BY JOHN ANDREWS (ADAPTED)[5] + + +[5] From a letter written to a friend in 1773. + + +On November 29, 1773, there arrived in Boston +Harbor a ship carrying an hundred and odd chests +of the detested tea. The people in the country +roundabout, as well as the town's folk, were +unanimous against allowing the landing of it; but +the agents in charge of the consignment persisted +in their refusal to take the tea back to London. +The town bells were rung, for a general muster of +the citizens. Handbills were stuck up calling on +``Friends! Citizens! Countrymen!'' + +Mr. Rotch, the owner of the ship, found himself +exposed not only to the loss of his ship, but +to the loss of the money-value of the tea itself, +if he should attempt to send her back without +clearance papers from the custom-house; for the +admiral kept a vessel in readiness to seize any +ship which might leave without those papers. +Therefore, Mr. Rotch declared that his ship +should not carry back the tea without either the +proper clearance or the promise of full indemnity +for any losses he might incur. + +Matters continued thus for some days, when +a general muster was called of the people of Boston +and of all the neighboring towns. They met, +to the number of five or six thousand, at ten +o'clock in the morning, in the Old South Meeting- +House; where they passed a unanimous vote THAT THE +TEA SHOULD GO OUT OF THE HARBOR THAT AFTERNOON! + +A committee, with Mr. Rotch, was sent to the +custom-house to demand a clearance. This the +collector said he could not give without the duties +first being paid. Mr. Rotch was then sent to ask +for a pass from the governor, who returned answer +that ``consistent with the rules of government +and his duty to the king he could not grant +one without they produced a previous clearance +from the office.'' + +By the time Mr. Rotch returned to the Old +South Meeting-House with this message, the +candles were lighted and the house still crowded +with people. When the governor's message was +read a prodigious shout was raised, and soon afterward +the moderator declared the meeting dissolved. +This caused another general shout, outdoors +and in, and what with the noise of breaking +up the meeting, one might have thought that the +inhabitants of the infernal regions had been let +loose. + +That night there mustered upon Fort Hill +about two hundred strange figures, SAID TO BE +INDIANS FROM NARRAGANSETT. They were clothed +in blankets, with heads muffled, and had copper- +colored countenances. Each was armed with a +hatchet or axe, and a pair of pistols. They spoke +a strange, unintelligible jargon. + +They proceeded two by two to Griffin's Wharf, +where three tea-ships lay, each with one hundred +and fourteen chests of the ill-fated article on +board. And before nine o'clock in the evening +every chest was knocked into pieces and flung +over the sides. + +Not the least insult was offered to any one, +save one Captain Conner, who had ripped up the +linings of his coat and waistcoat, and, watching +his opportunity, had filled them with tea. But, +being detected, he was handled pretty roughly. +They not only stripped him of his clothes, but +gave him a coat of mud, with a severe bruising +into the bargain. Nothing but their desire not to +make a disturbance prevented his being tarred +and feathered. + +The tea being thrown overboard, all the +Indians disappeared in a most marvelous fashion. + +The next day, if a stranger had walked through +the streets of Boston, and had observed the calm +composure of the people, he would hardly have +thought that ten thousand pounds sterling of +East India Company's tea had been destroyed +the night before. + + +A GUNPOWDER STORY + +BY JOHN ESTEN COOKE (ADAPTED) + +[6] From Stories of the Old Dominion. Used by permission of the +American Book Company, publishers. + + +In the autumn of 1777 the English decided to +attack Fort Henry, at Wheeling, in northwestern +Virginia. This was an important border fort +named in honor of Patrick Henry, and around +which had grown up a small village of about +twenty-five log houses. + +A band of Indians, under the leadership of one +Simon Girty, was supplied by the English with +muskets and ammunition, and sent against the +fort. This Girty was a white man, who, when a +boy, had been captured by Indians, and brought +up by them. He had joined their tribes, and was +a ferocious and bloodthirsty leader of savage +bands. + +When the settlers at Wheeling heard that +Simon Girty and his Indians were advancing on the +town, they left their homes and hastened into the +fort. Scarcely had they done so when the savages +made their appearance. + +The defenders of the fort knew that a desperate +fight must now take place, and there seemed little +probability that they would be able to hold out +against their assailants. They had only forty +two fighting men, including old men and boys, +while the Indian force numbered about five +hundred. + +What was worse they had but a small amount +of gunpowder. A keg containing the main supply +had been left by accident in one of the village +houses. This misfortune, as you will soon +see, brought about the brave action of a young +girl. + +After several encounters with the savages, +which took place in the village, the defenders +withdrew to the fort. Then a number of Indians +advanced with loud yells, firing as they came. The +fire was returned by the defenders, each of whom +had picked out his man, and taken deadly aim. +Most of the attacking party were killed, and the +whole body of Indians fell back into the near-by +woods, and there awaited a more favorable +opportunity to renew hostilities. + +The men in the fort now discovered, to their +great dismay, that their gunpowder was nearly +gone. What was to be done? Unless they could +get another supply, they would not be able to +hold the fort, and they and their women and children +would either be massacred or carried into +captivity. + +Colonel Shepherd, who was in command, +explained to the settlers exactly how matters stood. +He also told them of the forgotten keg of powder +which was in a house standing about sixty yards +from the gate of the fort. + +It was plain to all that if any man should +attempt to procure the keg, he would almost surely +be shot by the lurking Indians. In spite of this +three or four young men volunteered to go on the +dangerous mission. + +Colonel Shepherd replied that he could not +spare three or four strong men, as there were +already too few for the defense. Only one man +should make the attempt and they might decide +who was to go. This caused a dispute. + +Just then a young girl stepped forward and +said that SHE was ready to go. Her name was +Elizabeth Zane, and she had just returned from +a boarding-school in Philadelphia. This made +her brave offer all the more remarkable, since she +had not been bred up to the fearless life of the +border. + +At first the men would not hear of her running +such a risk. She was told that it meant certain +death. But she urged that they could not spare +a man from the defense, and that the loss of one +girl would not be an important matter. So after +some discussion the settlers agreed that she should +go for the powder. + +The house, as has already been stated, stood +about sixty yards from the fort, and Elizabeth +hoped to run thither and bring back the powder +in a few minutes. The gate was opened, and she +passed through, running like a deer. + +A few straggling Indians were dodging about +the log houses of the town; they saw the fleeing +girl, but for some reason they did not fire upon +her. They may have supposed that she was +returning to her home to rescue her clothes. Possibly +they thought it a waste of good ammunition +to fire at a woman, when they were so sure of +taking the fort before long. So they looked on +quietly while, with flying skirts, Elizabeth ran +across the open, and entered the house. + +She found the keg of powder, which was not +large. She lifted it with both arms, and, holding the +precious burden close to her breast, she darted out +of the house and ran in the direction of the fort. + +When the Indians saw what she was carrying +they uttered fierce yells and fired. The bullets +fell like hail about her, but not one so much as +touched her garments. With the keg hugged to +her bosom, she ran on, and reached the fort in +safety. The gate closed upon her just as the +bullets of the Indians buried themselves in its +thick panels. + +The rescued gunpowder enabled the little +garrison to hold out until help arrived from the other +settlements near Wheeling. And Girty, seeing +that there were no further hopes of taking Fort +Henry, withdrew his band. + +Thus a weak but brave girl was the means of +saving strong men with their wives and children. +It was a heroic act, and Americans should never +forget to honor the name of Elizabeth Zane. + + +THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING (ADAPTED) + +Some bold spirits in Connecticut conceived the +project of surprising the old forts of Ticonderoga +and Crown Point, already famous in the French +War. Their situation on Lake Champlain gave +them the command of the main route into Canada +so that the possession of them would be all- +important in case of hostilities. They were feebly +garrisoned and negligently guarded, and abundantly +furnished with artillery and military stores +so needed by the patriot army. + +At this juncture Ethan Allen stepped forward, +a patriot, and volunteered with his ``Green +Mountain Boys.'' He was well fitted for the +enterprise. During the border warfare over the New +Hampshire Grants, he and his lieutenants had +been outlawed by the Legislature of New York +and rewards offered for their apprehension. He +and his associates had armed themselves, set New +York at defiance, and had sworn they would be +the death of any one who should try to arrest +them. + +Thus Ethan Allen had become a kind of Robin +Hood among the mountains. His experience as +a frontier champion, his robustness of mind and +body, and his fearless spirit made him a most +desirable leader in the expedition against Fort +Ticonderoga. Therefore he was appointed at the +head of the attacking force. + +Accompanied by Benjamin Arnold and two +other officers, Allen and his party of soldiers who +had been enlisted from several States, set out and +arrived at Shoreham, opposite Fort Ticonderoga +on the shore of Lake Champlain. They reached +the place at night-time. There were only a few +boats on hand, but the transfer of men began +immediately. It was slow work. The night wore +away; day was about to break, and but eighty- +three men, with Allen and Arnold, had crossed. +Should they wait for the rest to cross over, day +would dawn, the garrison wake, and their enterprise +might fail. + +Allen drew up his men, addressed them in his +own emphatic style, and announced his intention +of making a dash at the fort without waiting for +more force. + +``It is a desperate attempt,'' said he, ``and I +ask no man to go against his will. I will take the +lead, and be the first to advance. You that are +willing to follow, poise your firelocks!'' + +Not a firelock but was poised! + +They mounted the hill briskly but in silence, +guided by a boy from the neighborhood. + +The day dawned as Allen arrived at a sally- +port. A sentry pulled trigger on him, but his +piece missed fire. He retreated through a covered +way. Allen and his men followed. Another +sentry thrust at an officer with his bayonet, but +was struck down by Allen, and begged for quarter. +It was granted on condition of his leading the +way instantly to the quarters of the commandant, +Captain Delaplace, who was yet in bed. + +Being arrived there, Allen thundered at the +door, and demanded a surrender of the fort. By +this time his followers had formed into two lines +on the parade-ground, and given three hearty +cheers. + +The commandant appeared at the door half- +dressed, the frightened face of his pretty wife +peering over his shoulder. He gazed at Allen in +bewildered astonishment. + +``By whose authority do you act?'' exclaimed +he. + +``In the name of the Continental Congress!'' +replied Allen, with a flourish of his sword, and an +oath which we do not care to subjoin. + +There was no disputing the point. The garrison, +like the commandant, had been startled from +sleep, and made prisoners as they rushed forth +in their confusion. A surrender accordingly took +place. The captain and forty-eight men who +composed his garrison were sent prisoners to Hartford, +in Connecticut. + +And thus without the loss of a single man, one +of the important forts, commanding the main +route into Canada, fell into the hands of the +patriots. + + +WASHINGTON AND THE COWARDS + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING (ADAPTED) + +During the evacuation of New York by Washington, +two divisions of the enemy, encamped on +Long Island, one British under Sir Henry Clinton, +the other Hessian under Colonel Donop, emerged +in boats from the deep wooded recesses of Newtown +Inlet, and under cover of the fire from the +ships began to land at two points between Turtle +and Kip's Bays. + +The breastworks were manned by patriot +militia who had recently served in Brooklyn. +Disheartened by their late defeat, they fled at +the first advance of the enemy. Two brigades +of Putnam's Connecticut troops, which had been +sent that morning to support them, caught the +panic, and, regardless of the commands and +entreaties of their officers, joined in the general +scamper. + +At this moment Washington, who had mounted +his horse at the first sound of the cannonade, +came galloping to the scene of confusion. Riding +in among the fugitives he endeavored to rally and +restore them to order. All in vain. At the first +appearance of sixty or seventy redcoats, they +broke again without firing a shot, and fled in +headlong terror. + +Losing all self-command at the sight of such +dastardly conduct, Washington dashed his hat +upon the ground in a transport of rage. + +``Are these the men,'' exclaimed he, ``with +whom I am to defend America!'' + +In a paroxysm of passion and despair he +snapped his pistols at some of them, threatened +others with his sword, and was so heedless of his +own danger that he might have fallen into the +hands of the enemy, who were not eighty yards +distant, had not an aide-de-camp seized the +bridle of his horse, and absolutely hurried him +away. + +It was one of the rare moments of his life when +the vehement element of his nature was stirred +up from its deep recesses. He soon recovered his +self-possession, and took measures against the +general peril. + + + +LABOR DAY + +(FIRST MONDAY IN SEPTEMBER) + + +THE SMITHY + +A HINDU FABLE + +BY P. V. RAMASWAMI RAJU (ADAPTED) + +Once words ran high in a smithy. + +The furnace said: ``If I cease to burn, the +smithy must close.'' + +The bellows said: ``If I cease to blow, no fire, +no smithy.'' + +The hammer and anvil, also, each claimed the +sole credit for keeping up the smithy. + +The ploughshare that had been shaped by the +furnace, the bellows, the hammer and the anvil, +cried: ``It is not each of you alone, that keeps up +the smithy, but ALL TOGETHER.'' + + +THE NAIL + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM (TRANSLATED)[7] + + +[7] From the Riverside Fourth Reader. + + +A merchant had done good business at the fair; +he had sold his wares, and filled his bag with gold +and silver. Then he set out at once on his journey +home, for he wished to be in his own house before +night. + +At noon he rested in a town. When he wanted +to go on, the stable-boy brought his horse, saying: + +``A nail is wanting, sir, in the shoe of his left +hind foot.'' + +``Let it be wanting,'' answered the merchant; +``the shoe will stay on for the six miles I have still +to go. I am in a hurry.'' + +In the afternoon he got down at an inn and had +his horse fed. The stable-boy came into the room +to him and said: ``Sir, a shoe is wanting from your +horse's left hind foot. Shall I take him to the +blacksmith?'' + +``Let it still be wanting,'' said the man; ``the +horse can very well hold out for a couple of miles +more. I am in a hurry.'' + +So the merchant rode forth, but before long the +horse began to limp. He had not limped long +before he began to stumble, and he had not +stumbled long before he fell down and broke his +leg. The merchant had to leave the horse where +he fell, and unstrap the bag, take it on his back, +and go home on foot. + +``That unlucky nail,'' said he to himself, ``has +made all this trouble.'' + + +THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER + +BY HORACE E. SCUDDER + +There was once a shoemaker who worked very +hard and was honest. Still, he could not earn +enough to live on. At last, all he had in the world +was gone except just leather enough to make one +pair of shoes. He cut these out at night, and +meant to rise early the next morning to make +them up. + +His heart was light in spite of his troubles, for +his conscience was clear. So he went quietly to +bed, left all his cares to God, and fell asleep. In +the morning he said his prayers, and sat down to +work, when, to his great wonder, there stood the +shoes, already made, upon the table. + +The good man knew not what to say or think. +He looked at the work. There was not one false +stitch in the whole job. All was neat and true. + +That same day a customer came in, and the +shoes pleased him so well that he readily paid a +price higher than usual for them. The shoemaker +took the money and bought leather enough to +make two pairs more. He cut out the work in the +evening, and went to bed early. He wished to +be up with the sun and get to work. + +He was saved all trouble, for when he got up +in the morning, the work was done. Pretty soon +buyers came in, who paid him well for his goods. +So he bought leather enough for four pairs more. + +He cut out the work again overnight, and found +it finished in the morning as before. So it went +on for some time. What was got ready at night +was always done by daybreak, and the good man +soon was well-to-do. + +One evening, at Christmas-time, he and his +wife sat over the fire, chatting, and he said: ``I +should like to sit up and watch to-night, that we +may see who it is that comes and does my work +for me.'' So they left the light burning, and hid +themselves behind a curtain to see what would +happen. + +As soon as it was midnight, there came two +little Elves. They sat upon the shoemaker's +bench, took up all the work that was cut out, and +began to ply their little fingers. They stitched +and rapped and tapped at such a rate that the +shoemaker was amazed, and could not take his +eyes off them for a moment. + +On they went till the job was done, and the +shoes stood, ready for use, upon the table. This +was long before daybreak. Then they ran away +as quick as lightning. + +The next day the wife said to the shoemaker: +``These little Elves have made us rich, and we +ought to be thankful to them, and do them some +good in return. I am vexed to see them run about +as they do. They have nothing upon their backs +to keep off the cold. I'll tell you what we must +do. I will make each of them a shirt, and a coat +and waistcoat, and a pair of pantaloons into the +bargain. Do you make each of them a little pair +of shoes.'' + +The good shoemaker liked the thought very +well. One evening he and his wife had the clothes +ready, and laid them on the table instead of the +work they used to cut out. Then they went and +hid behind the curtain to watch what the little +Elves would do. + +At midnight the Elves came in and were going +to sit down at their work as usual. But when they +saw the clothes lying there for them, they laughed +and were in high glee. They dressed themselves in +the twinkling of an eye, and danced and capered +and sprang about as merry as could be, till at +last they danced out of the door, and over the +green. + +The shoemaker saw them no more, but everything +went well with him as long as he lived. + + +THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE + +BY JULlANA HORATIA EWING (ADAPTED) + +It is well known that the Fairy People cannot +abide meanness. They like to be liberally dealt +with when they beg or borrow of the human race; +and, on the other hand, to those who come to +them in need, they are invariably generous. + +Now there once lived a certain housewife who +had a sharp eye to her own interests, and gave +alms of what she had no use for, hoping to get +some reward in return. One day a Hillman +knocked at her door. + +``Can you lend us a saucepan, good mother?'' +said he. ``There's a wedding in the hill, and all +the pots are in use.'' + +``Is he to have one?'' asked the servant lass +who had opened the door. + +``Aye, to be sure,'' answered the housewife; +``one must be neighborly.'' + +But when the maid was taking a saucepan from +the shelf, the housewife pinched her arm and +whispered sharply: ``Not that, you good-for- +nothing! Get the old one out of the cupboard. +It leaks, and the Hillmen are so neat, and such +nimble workers, that they are sure to mend it +before they send it home. So one obliges the +Fairy People, and saves sixpence in tinkering!'' + +Thus bidden the maid fetched the saucepan, +which had been laid by until the tinker's next +visit, and gave it to the Hillman, who thanked +her and went away. + +In due time the saucepan was returned, and, +as the housewife had foreseen, it was neatly +mended and ready for use. + +At supper-time the maid filled the pan with +milk, and set it on the fire for the children's +supper. But in a few minutes the milk was so burnt +and smoked that no one could touch it, and even +the pigs refused to drink it. + +``Ah, good-for-nothing hussy!'' cried the +housewife, as she refilled the pan herself, ``you would +ruin the richest with your carelessness! There's +a whole quart of good milk wasted at once!'' + +``AND THAT'S TWOPENCE!'' cried a voice that +seemed to come from the chimney, in a whining +tone, like some discontented old body going over +her grievances. + +The housewife had not left the saucepan for two +minutes, when the milk boiled over, and it was +all burnt and smoked as before. + +``The pan must be dirty,'' muttered the good +woman in vexation, ``and there are two full +quarts of milk as good as thrown to the dogs.'' + +``AND THAT'S FOURPENCE!'' added the voice in +the chimney. + +After a thorough cleaning the saucepan was +once more filled and set on the fire, but with no +better success. The milk boiled over again, and +was hopelessly spoiled. The housewife shed tears +of anger at the waste and cried: ``Never before +did such a thing befall me since I kept house! +Three quarts of new milk burnt for one meal.'' + +``AND THAT'S SIXPENCE!'' cried the voice in the +chimney. ``You didn't save the tinkering after +all, mother!'' + +With that the Hillman himself came tumbling +down from the chimney, and went off laughing +through the door. + +But from then on the saucepan was as good as +any other. + + +HOFUS THE STONE-CUTTER + +A JAPANESE LEGEND + +FROM THE RIVERSIDE THIRD READER (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time in Japan, there was a poor +stone-cutter, named Hofus, who used to go every +day to the mountain-side to cut great blocks of +stone. He lived near the mountain in a little +stone hut, and worked hard and was happy. + +One day he took a load of stone to the house +of a rich man. There he saw so many beautiful +things that when he went back to his mountain +he could think of nothing else. Then he began to +wish that he too might sleep in a bed as soft as +down, with curtains of silk, and tassels of gold. +And he sighed:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only were rich as he!'' + + +To his surprise, the voice of the Mountain +Spirit answered:-- + + ``Have thou thy wish!'' + + +When Hofus returned home that evening his +little hut was gone, and in its place stood a great +palace. It was filled with beautiful things, and +the best of all was a bed of down, with curtains +of silk and tassels of gold. + +Hofus decided to work no more. But he was +not used to being idle, and time passed slowly,-- +the days seemed very long. + +One day as he sat by the window he saw a +carriage dash past. It was drawn by snow-white +horses. In it sat a prince, while before and behind +were servants in suits of blue and white. One was +holding a golden umbrella over the prince. + +When the stone-cutter saw this, he began to +feel unhappy, and he sighed:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only a prince might be!'' + + +And again the same voice that he had heard on +the mountain answered:-- + + ``Be thou a prince!'' + + +Straightway Hofus was a prince. He had servants +dressed in crimson and gold, and he rode in +a carriage with a golden umbrella over his head. + +For a short time he was happy, but one day, +as he walked in the garden, he saw that the +flowers were drooping, the grass was dry and +brown. And when he rode out he felt the hot sun +burn him in spite of his umbrella. + +``The sun is mightier than I,'' thought he, and +then he sighed:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only the sun might be!'' + + +And the voice answered:-- + + ``Be thou the sun!'' + +Straightway the great sun he became. He +burned the grass and rice fields. he dried up the +streams. Rich and poor alike suffered from the +terrible heat. + +One day a cloud came and rested in front of +him, and hid the earth from his sight. He was +angry and cried:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only a cloud might be!'' + + +And the voice answered:-- + + ``Be thou a cloud!'' + + +Straightway a cloud he became. He floated +before the face of the sun, and hid the earth +from it. + +Then day after day the cloud dropped rain. +The rivers overflowed, and the rice-fields were +covered with water. Towns were swept away. +Only the great rocks on the mountain-side stood +unmoved midst the flood. + +The cloud looked at them in wonder, then he +sighed:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only a rock might be!'' + + +And the voice answered:-- + + ``Be thou a rock!'' + + +Straightway a rock he became. Proudly he +stood. The sun could not burn him and the rain +could not move him. + +``Now, at last,'' he said, ``no one is mightier +than I.'' + +But one day he was waked from his dreams by +a noise,--tap! tap! tap!--down at his feet. He +looked and there was a stone-cutter driving his +tool into the rock. Another blow and the great +rock shivered; a block of stone broke away. + +``That man is mightier than I!'' cried Hofus, +and he sighed:-- + + ``Ah me! Ah me! + If Hofus only the man might be!'' + + +And the voice answered:-- + + ``Be thou thyself!'' + + +And straightway Hofus was himself again,-- +a poor stone-cutter, working all day upon the +mountain-side, and going home at night to his +little hut. But he was content and happy, and +never again did he wish to be other than Hofus +the stone-cutter. + + +ARACHNE + +BY JOSEPHINE PRESTON PEABODY + +There was a certain maiden of Lydia, Arachne +by name, renowned throughout the country for +her skill as a weaver. She was as nimble with her +fingers as Calypso, that Nymph who kept Odysseus +for seven years in her enchanted island. She +was as untiring as Penelope, the hero's wife, who +wove day after day while she watched for his +return. Day in and day out, Arachne wove too. +The very Nymphs would gather about her loom, +Naiads from the water and Dryads from the trees. + +``Maiden,'' they would say, shaking the leaves +or the foam from their hair, in wonder, ``Pallas +Athena must have taught you!'' + +But this did not please Arachne. She would not +acknowledge herself a debtor, even to that goddess +who protected all household arts, and by +whose grace alone one had any skill in them. + +``I learned not of Athena,'' said she. ``If she +can weave better, let her come and try.'' + +The Nymphs shivered at this, and an aged +woman, who was looking on, turned to Arachne. + +``Be more heedful of your words, my daughter,'' +said she. ``The goddess may pardon you if you +ask forgiveness, but do not strive for honors with +the immortals.'' + +Arachne broke her thread, and the shuttle +stopped humming. + +``Keep your counsel,'' she said. ``I fear not +Athena; no, nor any one else.'' + +As she frowned at the old woman, she was +amazed to see her change suddenly into one tall, +majestic, beautiful,--a maiden of gray eyes and +golden hair, crowned with a golden helmet. It +was Athena herself. + +The bystanders shrank in fear and reverence; +only Arachne was unawed and held to her foolish +boast. + +In silence the two began to weave, and the +Nymphs stole nearer, coaxed by the sound of the +shuttles, that seemed to be humming with delight +over the two webs,--back and forth like bees. + +They gazed upon the loom where the goddess +stood plying her task, and they saw shapes and +images come to bloom out of the wondrous colors, +as sunset clouds grow to be living creatures when +we watch them. And they saw that the goddess, +still merciful, was spinning; as a warning for +Arachne, the pictures of her own triumph over +reckless gods and mortals. + +In one corner of the web she made a story of +her conquest over the sea-god Poseidon. For the +first king of Athens had promised to dedicate +the city to that god who should bestow upon it the +most useful gift. Poseidon gave the horse. But +Athena gave the olive,--means of livelihood,-- +symbol of peace and prosperity, and the city was +called after her name. Again she pictured a vain +woman of Troy, who had been turned into a +crane for disputing the palm of beauty with a +goddess. Other corners of the web held similar +images, and the whole shone like a rainbow. + +Meanwhile Arachne, whose head was quite +turned with vanity, embroidered her web with +stories against the gods, making light of Zeus +himself and of Apollo, and portraying them as +birds and beasts. But she wove with marvelous +skill; the creatures seemed to breathe and speak, +yet it was all as fine as the gossamer that you find +on the grass before rain. + +Athena herself was amazed. Not even her +wrath at the girl's insolence could wholly overcome +her wonder. For an instant she stood entranced; +then she tore the web across, and three +times she touched Arachne's forehead with her +spindle. + +``Live on, Arachne,'' she said. ``And since it is +your glory to weave, you and yours must weave +forever.'' So saying, she sprinkled upon the +maiden a certain magical potion. + +Away went Arachne's beauty; then her very +human form shrank to that of a spider, and so +remained. As a spider she spent all her days +weaving and weaving; and you may see something +like her handiwork any day among the rafters. + + +THE METAL KING + +A GERMAN FOLE-TALE + +(ADAPTED) + +Once long ago there was a high mountain whose +rocks were veined with gold and silver and seamed +with iron. At times, from a huge rent in the +mountain-side, there shot out roaring, red flames, +and clouds of black smoke. And when the +village folk in the valley below saw this, they would +say: ``Look! the Metal King is at his forge.'' For +they knew that in the gloomy heart of the mountain, +the Metal King and his Spirits of the Mines +wrought in gold and iron. + +When the storm raged over the valley, the +Metal King left his cavern and riding on the wings +of the wind, with thundering shouts, hurled his +red-hot bolts into the valley, now killing the +peasants and their cattle, now burning houses and +barns. + +But when the weather was soft and mild, and +the breezes blew gently about the mouth of his +cavern, the Metal King returned to his forge in +the depths of the mountain, and there shaped +ploughshares and many other implements of iron. +These he placed outside his cavern door, as gifts +to the poor peasants. + +It happened, on a time, there lived in that +valley a lazy lad, who would neither till his fields +nor ply a trade. He was avaricious, but he longed +to win gold without mining, and wealth and fame +without labor. So it came to pass that he set +out one day to find the mountain treasure of the +Metal King. + +Taking a lighted lantern in one hand, a hatchet +in the other, and a bundle of twigs under his +arm, he entered the dark cavern. The dampness +smote his cheek, bats flapped their wings in his +face. Shivering with fear and cold, he pressed +on through a long passage under an arched and +blackened roof. As he passed along he dropped +his twigs, one after another, so that they might +guide him aright when he returned. + +He came at last to a place where the passage +branched off in two directions,--to the right and +to the left. Choosing the right-hand path, he +walked on and at length came to an iron door. He +struck it twice with his hammer. It flew open, +and a strong current of air rushing forth put out +his light. + +``Come in! Come in!'' shouted a voice like the +rolling of thunder, and the cavern echoes gave +back the sounds. + +Almost overcome by terror and shivering in +every limb, the lad entered. As he stepped forward +a dazzling light shone from the vaulted +roof upheld by massive columns, and across +the crystal side-walls flittered curious, shadowy +figures. + +The Metal King, huge and fierce-eyed, +surrounded by the misshapen Spirits of the Mines, +sat upon a block of pure silver, with a pile of +shining gold lying before him. + +``Come in, my friend!'' he shouted again, and +again the echoes rolled through the cavern. + +``Come near, and sit beside me.'' + +The lad advanced, pale and trembling, and +took his seat upon the silver block. + +``Bring out more treasure,'' cried the Metal +King, and at his command the Mountain Spirits +fluttered away like dreams, only to return in a +moment and pile high before the wondering lad +bars of red gold, mounds of silver coin, and stacks +of precious jewels. + +And when the lad saw all that wealth he felt +his heart burst with longing to grasp it, but when +he tried to put out his hand, he found that he +could not move his arm, nor could he lift his feet, +nor turn his head. + +``Thou seest these riches,'' said the Metal +King; ``they are but a handful compared with +those thou mayest gain if thou wilt work with us +in the mines. Hard is the service but rich the +reward! Only say the word, and for a year and +a day thou shalt be a Mountain Spirit.'' + +``Nay,'' stammered the lad, in great terror, +``nay, I came not to work. All I beg of thee is +one bar of gold and a handful of the jewels that +lie here. If they are mine I can dress better than +the village lads, and ride in my own coach!'' + +``Lazy, ungrateful wretch!'' cried the Metal +King, rising from his seat, while his figure seemed +to tower until his head touched the cavern roof, +``wouldst thou seize without pay the treasures +gained through the hard labor of my Mountain +Spirits! Hence! Get thee gone to thy place! +Seek not here for unearned riches! Cast away thy +discontented disposition and thou shalt turn +stones into gold. Dig well thy garden and thy +fields, sow them and tend them diligently, search +the mountain-sides; and thou shalt gain through +thine industry mines of gold and silver!'' + +Scarcely had the Metal King spoken when +there was heard a screeching as of ravens, a +crying as of night owls, and a mighty storm wind +came rushing against the lad; and catching him +up it drove him forth along the dark passage, and +down the mountain-side, so that in a minute he +found himself on the steps of his own house. + +And from that time on a strange change came +over the lad. He no longer idled and dreamed of +sudden wealth, but morning, noon, and evening +he labored diligently, sowing his fields, cultivating +his garden, and mining on the mountain-side. +Years came and went; all he touched prospered, +and he grew to be the richest man in that country; +but never again did he see the Metal King +or the Spirits of the Mines. + + +THE CHOICE OF HERCULES + +BY XENOPHON (ADAPTED) + +Long, long ago, when the world was young, there +were many deeds waiting to be wrought by daring +heroes. It was then that the mighty Hercules, +who was yet a lad, felt an exceeding great and +strong desire to go out into the wide world to seek +his fortune. + +One day, while wandering alone and thoughtful, +he came to a place where two paths met. And +sitting down he gravely considered which he +should follow. + +One path led over flowery meadows toward the +darkening distance; the other, passing over rough +stones and rugged, brown furrows, lost itself in +the glowing sunset. + +And as Hercules gazed into the distance, he +saw two stately maidens coming toward him. + +The first was tall and graceful, and wrapped +round in a snow-white mantle. Her countenance +was calm and beautiful. With gracious mien and +modest glance she drew near the lad. + +The other maiden made haste to outrun the +first. She, too, was tall, but seemed taller than +she really was. She, too, was beautiful, but her +glance was bold. As she ran, a rosy garment like +a cloud floated about her form, and she kept +looking at her own round arms and shapely hands, +and ever and anon she seemed to gaze admiringly +at her shadow as it moved along the ground. And +this fair one did outstrip the first maiden, and +rushing forward held out her white hands to the +lad, exclaiming:-- + +``I see thou art hesitating, O Hercules, by what +path to seek thy fortune. Follow me along this +flowery way, and I will make it a delightful and +easy road. Thou shalt taste to the full of every +kind of pleasure. No shadow of annoyance shall +ever touch thee, nor strain nor stress of war and +state disturb thy peace. Instead thou shalt tread +upon carpets soft as velvet, and sit at golden +tables, or recline upon silken couches. The fairest +of maidens shall attend thee, music and perfume +shall lull thy senses, and all that is delightful to +eat and drink shall be placed before thee. Never +shalt thou labor, but always live in joy and ease. +Oh, come! I give my followers liberty and delight!'' + +And as she spoke the maiden stretched forth +her arms, and the tones of her voice were sweet +and caressing. + +``What, O maiden,'' asked Hercules, ``is thy +name?'' + +``My friends,'' said she, ``call me Happiness, +but mine enemies name me Vice.'' + +Even as she spoke, the white-robed maiden, +who had drawn near, glided forward, and addressed +the lad in gracious tones and with words +stately and winning:-- + +``O beloved youth, who wouldst wander forth +in search of Life, I too, would plead with thee! +I, Virtue, have watched and tended thee from a +child. I know the fond care thy parents have +bestowed to train thee for a hero's part. Direct now +thy steps along yon rugged path that leads to my +dwelling. Honorable and noble mayest thou become +through thy illustrious deeds. + +``I will not seduce thee by promises of vain +delights; instead will I recount to thee the things +that really are. Lasting fame and true nobility +come not to mortals save through pain and labor. +If thou, O Hercules, seekest the gracious gifts of +Heaven, thou must remain constant in prayer; +if thou wouldst be beloved of thy friends, thou +must serve thy friends; if thou desirest to be +honored of the people thou must benefit the people; +if thou art anxious to reap the fruits of the +earth, thou must till the earth with labor; and if +thou wishest to be strong in body and accomplish +heroic deeds, thou must teach thy body to obey +thy mind. Yea, all this and more also must thou +do.'' + +``Seest thou not, O Hercules,'' cried Vice, +``over how difficult and tedious a road this Virtue +would drive thee? I, instead, will conduct thy +steps by a short and easy path to perfect Happiness.'' + +``Wretched being!'' answered Virtue, ``wouldst +thou deceive this lad! What lasting Happiness +hast thou to offer! Thou pamperest thy followers +with riches, thou deludest them with idleness; +thou surfeitest them with luxury; thou enfeeblest +them with softness. In youth they grow slothful +in body and weak in mind. They live without +labor and wax fat. They come to a wretched old +age, dissatisfied, and ashamed, and oppressed by +the memory of their ill deeds; and, having run +their course, they lay themselves down in +melancholy death and their name is remembered no +more. + +``But those fortunate youths who follow me +receive other counsel. I am the companion of +virtuous men. Always I am welcome in the +homes of artisans and in the cottages of tillers of +the soil. I am the guardian of industrious +households, and the rewarder of generous masters and +faithful servants. I am the promoter of the labors +of peace. No honorable deed is accomplished +without me. + +``My friends have sweet repose and the +untroubled enjoyment of the fruits of their efforts. +They remember their deeds with an easy conscience +and contentment, and are beloved of their +friends and honored by their country. And when +they have run their course, and death overtakes +them, their names are celebrated in song and +praise, and they live in the hearts of their +grateful countrymen. + +``Come, then, O Hercules, thou son of noble +parents, come, follow thou me, and by thy +worthy and illustrious deeds secure for thyself +exalted Happiness.'' + +She ceased, and Hercules, withdrawing his +gaze from the face of Vice, arose from his place, +and followed Virtue along the rugged, brown path +of Labor. + + +THE SPEAKING STATUE + +FROM GESTA ROMANORUM (ADAPTED) + +There was once a great emperor who made a law +that whosoever worked on the birthday of his +eldest son should be put to death. He caused this +decree to be published throughout his empire, +and, sending for his chief magician, said to him:-- + +``I wish you to devise an instrument which will +tell me the name of each laborer who breaks my +new law.'' + +``Sire,'' answered the magician, ``your will +shall be accomplished.'' And he straightway +constructed a wonderful, speaking statue, and placed +it in the public square of the capital city. By its +magic power this statue could discern all that +went on in the empire on the birthday of the +eldest prince, and it could tell the name of each +laborer who worked in secret on that day. Thus +things continued for some years, and many men +were put to death. + +Now, there was in the capital city a carpenter +named Focus. He was a diligent workman, +laboring at his trade from early morning till late at +night. One year, when the prince's birthday came +round, he continued to work all that day. + +The next morning he arose, dressed himself, +and, before any one was astir in the streets, went +to the magic statue and said:-- + +``O statue, statue! because you have +denounced so many of our citizens, causing them +to be put to death, I vow, if you accuse me, I will +break your head!'' + +Shortly after this the emperor dispatched +messengers to the statue to inquire if the law had +been broken the day before. When the statue +saw them, it exclaimed:-- + +``Friends, look up! What see ye written on +my forehead?'' + +They looked up and beheld three sentences +that ran thus:-- + + ``Times are altered! + ``Men grow worse! + ``He who speaks the truth will have his head broken!'' + + +``Go,'' said the statue, ``declare to His Majesty +what ye have seen and read.'' + +The messenger accordingly departed and returned +in haste to the emperor, and related to +him all that had occurred. + +The emperor ordered his guard to arm and to +march instantly to the public square, where the +statue was, and commanded that if any one had +attempted to injure it, he should be seized, bound +hand and foot, and dragged to the judgment hall. + +The guard hastened to do the emperor's +bidding. They approached the statue and said:-- + +``Our emperor commands you to tell who it is +that threatened you.'' + +The statue answered: ``Seize Focus the +carpenter. Yesterday he defied the emperor's edict; +this morning he threatened to break my head.'' + +The soldiers immediately arrested Focus, and +dragged him to the judgment hall. + +``Friend,'' said the emperor, ``what do I hear +of you? Why do you work on my son's birthday?'' + +``Your Majesty,'' answered Focus, ``it is +impossible for me to keep your law. I am obliged +to earn eight pennies every day, therefore was I +forced to work yesterday.'' + +``And why eight pennies?'' asked the emperor. + +``Every day through the year,'' answered +Focus, ``I am bound to repay two pennies I borrowed +in my youth; two I lend; two I lose; and +two I spend.'' + +``How is this?'' said the emperor; ``explain +yourself further.'' + +``Your Majesty,'' replied Focus, ``listen to me. +I am bound each day to repay two pennies to my +old father, for when I was a boy he expended upon +me daily the like sum. Now he is poor and needs +my assistance, and I return what I formerly +borrowed. Two other pennies I lend my son, who is +pursuing his studies, in order that, if by chance +I should fall into poverty, he may restore the +loan to me, just as I am now doing to his grandfather. +Again, I lose two pennies on my wife, who +is a scold and has an evil temper. On account of +her bad disposition I consider whatever I give +her entirely lost. Lastly, two other pennies I +spend on myself for meat and drink. I cannot +do all this without working every day. You now +know the truth, and, I pray you, give a righteous +judgment.'' + +``Friend, ``said the emperor, ``you have answered +well. Go and work diligently at your calling.'' + +That same day the emperor annulled the law +forbidding labor on his son's birthday. Not long +after this he died, and Focus the carpenter, on +account of his singular wisdom, was elected +emperor in his stead. He governed wisely, and after +his death there was deposited in the royal archives +a portrait of Focus wearing a crown adorned with +eight pennies. + + +THE CHAMPION STONE-CUTTER + +BY HUGH MILLER + +David Fraser was a famous Scotch hewer. On +hearing that it had been remarked among a party +of Edinburgh masons that, though regarded as +the first of Glasgow stone-cutters, he would find +in the eastern capital at least his equals, he +attired himself most uncouthly in a long-tailed coat +of tartan, and, looking to the life the untamed, +untaught, conceited little Celt, he presented +himself on Monday morning, armed with a letter +of introduction from a Glasgow builder, before +the foreman of an Edinburgh squad of masons +engaged upon one of the finer buildings at that +time in the course of erection. + +The letter specified neither his qualifications +nor his name. It had been written merely to +secure for him the necessary employment, and +the necessary employment it did secure. + +The better workmen of the party were engaged, +on his arrival, in hewing columns, each of +which was deemed sufficient work for a week; and +David was asked somewhat incredulously, by the +foreman, if he could hew. + +``Oh, yes, HE THOUGHT he could hew.'' + +``Could he hew columns such as these?'' + +``Oh, yes, HE THOUGHT he could hew columns such +as these.'' + +A mass of stone, in which a possible column +lay hid, was accordingly placed before David, not +under cover of the shed, which was already +occupied by workmen, but, agreeably to David's +own request, directly in front of it, where he +might be seen by all, and where he straightway +commenced a most extraordinary course of antics. + +Buttoning his long tartan coat fast around him, +he would first look along the stone from the one +end, anon from the other, and then examine it in +front and rear; or, quitting it altogether for the +time, he would take up his stand beside the other +workmen, and, after looking at them with great +attention, return and give it a few taps with the +mallet, in a style evidently imitative of theirs, but +monstrously a caricature. + +The shed all that day resounded with roars of +laughter; and the only thoroughly grave man on +the ground was he who occasioned the mirth of +all the others. + +Next morning David again buttoned his coat; +but he got on much better this day than the +former. He was less awkward and less idle, +though not less observant than before; and he +succeeded ere evening in tracing, in workmanlike +fashion, a few draughts along the future column. +He was evidently greatly improving! + +On the morning of Wednesday he threw off his +coat; and it was seen that, though by no means in +a hurry, he was seriously at work. There were no +more jokes or laughter; and it was whispered in +the evening that the strange Highlander had made +astonishing progress during the day. + +By the middle of Thursday he had made up for +his two days' trifling, and was abreast of the +other workmen. Before night he was far ahead of +them; and ere the evening of Friday, when they +had still a full day's work on each of their +columns, David's was completed in a style that defied +criticism; and, his tartan coat again buttoned +around him, he sat resting himself beside it. + +The foreman went out and greeted him. + +``Well,'' he said, ``you have beaten us all. You +certainly CAN hew!'' + +``Yes,'' said David, ``I THOUGHT I could hew +columns. Did the other men take much more than +a week to learn?'' + +``Come, come, DAVID FRASER,'' replied the +foreman, ``we all guess who you are. You have had +your week's joke out; and now, I suppose, we +must give you your week's wages, and let you go +away!'' + +``Yes,'' said David, ``work waits for me in +Glasgow; but I just thought it might be well to +know how you hewed on this east side of the +country.'' + + +BILL BROWN'S TEST + +BY CLEVELAND MOFFETT + +All firemen have courage, but it cannot be known +until the test how many have this particular kind, +--Bill Brown's kind. + +What happened was this: Engine 29, pumping +and pounding her prettiest, stood at the northwest +corner of Greenwich and Warren streets, +so close to the blazing drug-house that Driver +Marks thought it wasn't safe there for the three +horses, and led them away. That was fortunate, +but it left Brown alone, right against the cheek +of the fire, watching his boiler, stoking in coal, +keeping his steam-gauge at 75. As the fire gained, +chunks of red-hot sandstone began to smash down +on the engine. Brown ran his pressure up to 80, +and watched the door anxiously where the boys +had gone in. + +Then the explosion came, and a blue flame, +wide as a house, curled its tongues halfway across +the street, enwrapping engine and man, setting +fire to the elevated railway station overhead, or +such wreck of it as the shock had left. + +Bill Brown stood by his engine, with a wall +of fire before him and a sheet of fire above him. +He heard quick footsteps on the pavements, +and voices, that grew fainter and fainter, crying, +``Run for your lives!'' He heard the hose-wagon +horses somewhere back in the smoke go plunging +away, mad with fright and their burns. He was +alone with the fire, and the skin was hanging in +shreds on his hands, face, and neck. Only a +fireman knows how one blast of flame can shrivel +up a man, and the pain over the bared surfaces +was,--well, there is no pain worse than that +of fire scorching in upon the quick flesh seared +by fire. + +Here, I think, was a crisis to make a very +brave man quail. Bill Brown knew perfectly well +why every one was running; there was going to +be another explosion in a couple of minutes, +maybe sooner, out of this hell in front of him. +And the order had come for every man to save +himself, and every man had done it except the +lads inside. And the question was, Should he run +or should he stay and die? It was tolerably certain +that he would die if he stayed. On the other +hand, the boys of old 29 were in there. Devanny +and McArthur, and Gillon and Merron, his +friends, his chums. He'd seen them drag the +hose in through that door,--there it was now, +a long, throbbing snake of it,--and they hadn't +come out. Perhaps they were dead. Yes, but +perhaps they weren't. If they were alive, they +needed water now more than they ever needed +anything before. And they couldn't get water +if he quit his engine. + +Bill Brown pondered this a long time, perhaps +four seconds; then he fell to stoking in coal, and +he screwed her up another notch, and he eased +her running parts with the oiler. Explosion or +not, pain or not, alone or not, he was going to +stay and make that engine hum. He had done +the greatest thing a man can do,--had offered +his life for his friends. + +It is pleasant to know that this sacrifice was +averted. A quarter of a minute or so before the +second and terrible explosion, Devanny and his +men came staggering from the building. Then it +was that Merron fell, and McArthur checked his +fight to save him. Then it was, but not until +then, that Bill Brown left Engine 29 to her fate +(she was crushed by the falling walls), and ran +for his life with his comrades. He had waited for +them, he had stood the great test. + + + +COLUMBUS DAY + +(OCTOBER 12) + +COLUMBUS AND THE EGG + +BY JAMES BALDWIN (ADAPTED)[8] + +[8] From Thirty More Famous Stories Retold. Copyright, 1903, by +American Book Company. + + +One day Columbus was at a dinner which a +Spanish gentleman had given in his honor, and +several persons were present who were jealous of +the great admiral's success. They were proud, +conceited fellows, and they very soon began to +try to make Columbus uncomfortable. + +``You have discovered strange lands beyond +the seas,'' they said, ``but what of that? We do +not see why there should be so much said about +it. Anybody can sail across the ocean; and +anybody can coast along the islands on the other +side, just as you have done. It is the simplest +thing in the world.'' + +Columbus made no answer; but after a while +he took an egg from a dish and said to the company:-- + +``Who among you, gentlemen, can make this +egg stand on end?'' + +One by one those at the table tried the +experiment. When the egg had gone entirely around +and none had succeeded, all said that it could +not be done. + +Then Columbus took the egg and struck its +small end gently upon the table so as to break +the shell a little. After that there was no trouble +in making it stand upright. + +``Gentlemen,'' said he, ``what is easier than to +do this which you said was impossible? It is the +simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do +it,--AFTER HE HAS BEEN SHOWN HOW!'' + + +COLUMBUS AT LA RABIDA + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING (ADAPTED) + +About half a league from the little seaport of +Palos de Moguer, in Andalusia, there stood, and +continues to stand at the present day, an ancient +convent of Franciscan friars, dedicated to Santa +Maria de Rabida. + +One day a stranger on foot, in humble guise, +but of a distinguished air, accompanied by a +small boy, stopped at the gate of the convent and +asked of the porter a little bread and water for +his child. While receiving this humble refreshment, +the prior of the convent, Juan Perez de +Marchena, happened to pass by, and was struck +with the appearance of the stranger. Observing +from his air and accent that he was a foreigner, +he entered into conversation with him and soon +learned the particulars of his story. + +That stranger was Columbus. + +Accompanied by his little son Diego, he was +on his way to the neighboring town of Huelva, +to seek a brother-in-law, who had married a +sister of his deceased wife. + +The prior was a man of extensive information. +His attention had been turned in some measure +to geographical and nautical science. He was +greatly interested by the conversation of Columbus, +and struck with the grandeur of his views. +When he found, however, that the voyager was +on the point of abandoning Spain to seek the +patronage of the court of France, the good friar +took the alarm. + +He detained Columbus as his guest, and sent +for a scientific friend to converse with him. That +friend was Garcia Fernandez, a physician of +Palos. He was equally struck with the appearance +and conversation of the stranger. Several +conferences took place at the convent, at which +veteran mariners and pilots of Palos were present. + +Facts were related by some of these navigators +in support of the theory of Columbus. In a +word, his project was treated with a deference +in the quiet cloisters of La Rabida and among the +seafaring men of Palos which had been sought in +vain among sages and philosophers. + +Among the navigators of Palos was one Martin +Alonzo Pinzon, the head of a family of wealth, +members of which were celebrated for their +adventurous expeditions. He was so convinced of the +feasibility of Columbus's plan that he offered to +engage in it with purse and person, and to bear the +expenses of Columbus in an application to court. + +Fray Juan Perez, being now fully persuaded of +the importance of the proposed enterprise, advised +Columbus to repair to the court, and make +his propositions to the Spanish sovereigns, +offering to give him a letter of recommendation to his +friend, the Prior of the Convent of Prado and +confessor to the queen, and a man of great political +influence; through whose means he would, +without doubt, immediately obtain royal audience +and favor. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, also, generously +furnished him with money for the journey, +and the Friar took charge of his youthful son, +Diego, to maintain and educate him in the convent. + +Thus aided and encouraged and elated with +fresh hopes, Columbus took leave of the little +junto at La Rabida, and set out, in the spring of +1486, for the Castilian court, which had just +assembled at Cordova, where the sovereigns were +fully occupied with their chivalrous enterprise for +the conquest of Granada. But alas! success was +not yet! for Columbus met with continued +disappointments and discouragements, while his +projects were opposed by many eminent prelates +and Spanish scientists, as being against religion +and unscientific. Yet in spite of this opposition, +by degrees the theory of Columbus began to +obtain proselytes. He appeared in the presence +of the king with modesty, yet self-possession, +inspired by a consciousness of the dignity and +importance of his errand; for he felt himself, as +he afterwards declared in his letters, animated as +if by a sacred fire from above, and considered +himself an instrument in the hand of Heaven to +accomplish its great designs. For nearly seven +years of apparently fruitless solicitation, Columbus +followed the royal court from place to place, at +times encouraged by the sovereigns, and at others +neglected. + +At last he looked round in search of some other +source of patronage, and feeling averse to subjecting +himself to further tantalizing delays and +disappointments of the court, determined to repair +to Paris. He departed, therefore, and went to the +Convent of La Rabida to seek his son Diego. +When the worthy Friar Juan Perez de Marchena +beheld Columbus arrive once more at the gate of +his convent after nearly seven years of fruitless +effort at court, and saw by the humility of his +garb the poverty he had experienced, he was +greatly moved; but when he found that he was +about to carry his proposition to another country, +his patriotism took alarm. + +The Friar had once been confessor to the +queen, and knew that she was always accessible +to persons of his sacred calling. He therefore +wrote a letter to her, and at the same time +entreated Columbus to remain at the convent +until an answer could be received. The latter +was easily persuaded, for he felt as if on leaving +Spain he was again abandoning his home. + +The little council at La Rabida now cast round +their eyes for an ambassador to send on this +momentous mission. They chose one Sebastian +Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, one of the most +shrewd and important personages in this maritime +neighborhood. He so faithfully and successfully +conducted his embassy that he returned +shortly with an answer. + +Isabella had always been favorably disposed +to the proposition of Columbus. She thanked +Juan Perez for his timely services and requested +him to repair immediately to the court, leaving +Columbus in confident hope until he should hear +further from her. This royal letter, brought back +by the pilot at the end of fourteen days, spread +great joy in the little junto at the convent. + +No sooner did the warm-hearted friar receive +it than he saddled his mule, and departed, +privately, before midnight to the court. He +journeyed through the countries of the Moors, +and rode into the new city of Santa Fe where +Ferdinand and Isabella were engaged in besieging +the capital of Granada. + +The sacred office of Juan Perez gained him a +ready admission into the presence of the queen. +He pleaded the cause of Columbus with enthusiasm. +He told of his honorable motives, of his +knowledge and experience, and his perfect +capacity to fulfill the undertaking. He showed the +solid principles upon which the enterprise was +founded, and the advantage that must attend its +success, and the glory it must shed upon the +Spanish Crown. + +Isabella, being warm and generous of nature +and sanguine of disposition, was moved by the +representations of Juan Perez, and requested that +Columbus might be again sent to her. Bethinking +herself of his poverty and his humble plight, she +ordered that money should be forwarded to him, +sufficient to bear his traveling expenses, and to +furnish him with decent raiment. + +The worthy friar lost no time in communicating +the result of his mission. He transmitted +the money, and a letter, by the hand of an +inhabitant of Palos, to the physician, Garcia +Fernandez, who delivered them to Columbus +The latter immediately changed his threadbare +garb for one more suited to the sphere of a court, +and purchasing a mule, set out again, reanimated +by hopes, for the camp before Granada. + +This time, after some delay, his mission was +attended with success. The generous spirit of +Isabella was enkindled, and it seemed as if the +subject, for the first time, broke upon her mind in +all its real grandeur. She declared her resolution +to undertake the enterprise, but paused for +a moment, remembering that King Ferdinand +looked coldly on the affair, and that the royal +treasury was absolutely drained by the war. + +Her suspense was but momentary. With an +enthusiasm worthy of herself and of the cause, +she exclaimed: ``I undertake the enterprise for +my own crown of Castile, and will pledge my +jewels to raise the necessary funds.'' This was +the proudest moment in the life of Isabella. It +stamped her renown forever as the patroness of +the discovery of the New World. + + +THE MUTINY + +BY A. DE LAMARTINE (ADAPTED) + +When Columbus left the Canaries to pass with +his three small ships into the unknown seas, the +eruptions of Teneriffe illuminated the heavens +and were reflected in the sea. This cast terror +into the minds of his seamen. They thought that +it was the flaming sword of the angel who +expelled the first man from Eden, and who now was +trying to drive back in anger those presumptuous +ones who were seeking entrance to the forbidden +and unknown seas and lands. But the admiral +passed from ship to ship explaining to his men, +in a simple way, the action of volcanoes, so that +the sailors were no longer afraid. + +But as the peak of Teneriffe sank below the +horizon, a great sadness fell upon the men. It +was their last beacon, the farthest sea-mark of +the Old World. They were seized with a nameless +terror and loneliness. + +Then the admiral called them around him in +his own ship, and told them many stories of the +things they might hope to find in the wonderful +new world to which they were going,--of the +lands, the islands, the seas, the kingdoms, the +riches, the vegetation, the sunshine, the mines of +gold, the sands covered with pearls, the mountains +shining with precious stones, the plains +loaded with spices. These stories, tinged with the +brilliant colors of their leader's rich imagination, +filled the discouraged sailors with hope and good +spirits. + +But as they passed over the trackless ocean, +and saw day by day the great billows rolling +between them and the mysterious horizon, the +sailors were again filled with dread. They lacked +the courage to sail onward into the unknown +distance. The compass began to vacillate, and +no longer pointed toward the north; this confused +both Columbus and his pilots. The men +fell into a panic, but the resolute and patient +admiral encouraged them once more. So buoyed +up by his faith and hope, they continued to sail +onwards over the pathless waters. + +The next day a heron and a tropical bird flew +about the masts of the ships, and these seemed to +the wondering sailors as two witnesses come to +confirm the reasoning of Columbus. + +The weather was mild and serene, the sky clear, +the waves transparent, the dolphins played across +the bows, the airs were warm, and the perfumes, +which the waves brought from afar, seemed to exhale +from their foam. The brilliancy of the stars +and the deep beauty of the night breathed a feeling +of calm security that comforted and sustained +the sailors. + +The sea also began to bring its messages. +Unknown vegetations floated upon its surface. Some +were rock-plants, that had been swept off the cliffs +by the waves; some were fresh-water plants; and +others, recently torn from their roots, were still full +of sap. One of them carried a live crab,--a little +sailor afloat on a tuft of grass. These plants and +living things could not have passed many days in +the water without fading and dying. And all +encouraged the sailors to believe that they were +nearing land. + +At eve and morning the distant waning clouds, +like those that gather round the mountain-tops, +took the form of cliffs and hills skirting the +horizon. The cry of ``land'' was on the tip of every +tongue. But Columbus by his reckoning knew that +they must still be far from any land, but fearing to +discourage his men he kept his thoughts to himself, +for he found no trustworthy friend among his +companions whose heart was firm enough to bear +his secret. + +During the long passage Columbus conversed +with his own thoughts, and with the stars, and +with God whom he felt was his protector. He +occupied his days in making notes of what he +observed. The nights he passed on deck with his +pilots, studying the stars and watching the seas. +He withdrew into himself, and his thoughtful +gravity impressed his companions sometimes +with respect and sometimes with mistrust and awe. + +Each morning the bows of the vessels plunged +through the fantastic horizon which the evening +mist had made the sailors mistake for a shore. +They kept rolling on through the boundless and +bottomless abyss. Gradually terror and discontent +once more took possession of the crews. They +began to imagine that the steadfast east wind +that drove them westward prevailed eternally +in this region, and that when the time came to +sail homeward, the same wind would prevent their +return. For surely their provisions and water +could not hold out long enough for them to beat +their way eastward over those wide waters! + +Then the sailors began to murmur against the +admiral and his seeming fruitless obstinacy, and +they blamed themselves for obeying him, when it +might mean the sacrifice of the lives of one hundred +and twenty sailors. + +But each time the murmurs threatened to break +out into mutiny, Providence seemed to send more +encouraging signs of land. And these for the time +being changed the complaints to hopes. At evening +little birds of the most delicate species, that +build their nests in the shrubs of the garden +and orchard, hovered warbling about the masts. +Their delicate wings and joyous notes bore no +signs of weariness or fright, as of birds swept far +away to sea by a storm. These signs again aroused +hope. + +The green weeds on the surface of the ocean +looked like waving corn before the ears are ripe. +The vegetation beneath the water delighted the +eyes of the sailors tired of the endless expanse of +blue. But the seaweed soon became so thick that +they were afraid of entangling their rudders and +keels, and of remaining prisoners forever in the +forests of the ocean, as ships of the northern seas +are shut in by ice. Thus each joy soon turned to +fear,--so terrible to man is the unknown. + +The wind ceased, the calms of the tropics +alarmed the sailors. An immense whale was seen +sleeping on the waters. They fancied there were +monsters in the deep which would devour their +ships. The roll of the waves drove them upon +currents which they could not stem for want of +wind. They imagined they were approaching +the cataracts of the ocean, and that they were +being hurried toward the abysses into which the +deluge had poured its world of waters. + +Fierce and angry faces crowded round the mast. +The murmurs rose louder and louder. They talked +of compelling the pilots to put about and of throwing +the admiral into the sea. Columbus, to whom +their looks and threats revealed these plans, +defied them by his bold bearing or disconcerted +them by his coolness. + +Again nature came to his assistance, by giving +him fresh breezes from the east, and a calm sea +under his bows. Before the close of the day came +the first cry of ``Land ho!'' from the lofty poop. +All the crews, repeating this cry of safety, life, and +triumph, fell on their knees on the decks,and struck +up the hymn, ``Glory be to God in heaven and +upon earth.'' When it was over, all climbed as +high as they could up the masts, yards, and rigging +to see with their own eyes the new land that +had been sighted. + +But the sunrise destroyed this new hope all too +quickly. The imaginary land disappeared with +the morning mist, and once more the ships seemed +to be sailing over a never-ending wilderness of +waters. + +Despair took possession of the crews. Again +the cry of ``Land ho!'' was heard. But the sailors +found as before that their hopes were but a passing +cloud. Nothing wearies the heart so much as +false hopes and bitter disappointments. + +Loud reproaches against the admiral were +heard from every quarter. Bread and water were +beginning to fail. Despair changed to fury. The +men decided to turn the heads of the vessels toward +Europe, and to beat back against the winds +that had favored the admiral, whom they intended +to chain to the mast of his own vessel and to give +up to the vengeance of Spain should they ever +reach the port of their own country. + +These complaints now became clamorous. The +admiral restrained them by the calmness of his +countenance. He called upon Heaven to decide +between himself and the sailors. He flinched not. +He offered his life as a pledge, if they would but +trust and wait for three days more. He swore +that, if, in the course of the third day, land was +not visible on the horizon, he would yield to +their wishes and steer for Europe. + +The mutinous men reluctantly consented and +allowed him three days of grace. + . . . . . . . . . . + +At sunrise on the second day rushes recently +torn up were seen floating near the vessels. A +plank hewn by an axe, a carved stick, a bough +of hawthorn in blossom, and lastly a bird's nest +built on a branch which the wind had broken, and +full of eggs on which the parent-bird was sitting, +were seen swimming past on the waters. The +sailors brought on board these living witnesses +of their approach to land. They were like a +message from the shore, confirming the promises of +Columbus. + +The overjoyed and repentant mutineers fell on +their knees before the admiral whom they had +insulted but the day before, and craved pardon +for their mistrust. + +As the day and night advanced many other +sights and sounds showed that land was very near. +Toward day delicious and unknown perfumes borne +on a soft land breeze reached the vessels, and there +was heard the roar of the waves upon the reefs. + +The dawn, as it spread over the sky, gradually +raised the shores of an island from the waves. +Its distant extremities were lost in the morning +mist. As the sun rose it shone on the land ascending +from a low yellow beach to the summit of hills +whose dark-green covering contrasted strongly +with the clear blue of the heavens. The foam of +the waves broke on the yellow sand, and forests +of tall and unknown trees stretched away, one +above another, over successive terraces of the +island. Green valleys, and bright clefts in the +hollows afforded a half glimpse into these mysterious +wilds. And thus the land of golden promises, the +land of future greatness, first appeared to +Christopher Columbus, the Admiral of the Ocean, and +thus he gave a New World to the nations to come. + + +THE FIRST LANDING OF COLUMBUS +IN THE NEW WORLD + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING (ADAPTED) + +It was on Friday morning, the 12th of October, +that Columbus first beheld the New World. As the +day dawned he saw before him an island, several +leagues in extent, and covered with trees like a +continual orchard. Though apparently uncultivated +it was populous, for the inhabitants were +seen issuing from all parts of the woods and +running to the shore. They were perfectly naked, +and, as they stood gazing at the ships, appeared +by their attitudes and gestures to be lost in astonishment. + +Columbus made signals for the ships to cast +anchor and the boats to be manned and armed. +He entered his own boat, richly attired in scarlet, +and holding the royal standard; while Martin +Alonzo Pinzon and his brother put off in company +in their boats, each with a banner of the enterprise +emblazoned with a green cross, having on +either side the letters ``F.'' and ``Y.,'' the initials +of the Castilian monarchs Fernando and Ysabel, +surmounted by crowns. + +As he approached the shore, Columbus was +delighted with the purity and suavity of the +atmosphere, the crystal transparency of the sea, +and the extraordinary beauty of the vegetation. +He beheld also fruits of an unknown kind upon +the trees which overhung the shores. + +On landing he threw himself on his knees, kissed +the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears +of joy. His example was followed by the rest.[9] +``Almighty and Eternal God,'' prayed Columbus, +``who by the energy of Thy creative word +hast made the firmament, the earth and the sea; +blessed and glorified be thy name in all places! +May thy majesty and dominion be exalted for +ever and ever, as Thou hast permitted thy holy +name to be made known and spread by the most +humble of thy servants, in this hitherto unknown +portion of Thine empire.'' + + +[9] This prayer is taken from Lamartine. + + + +Columbus, then rising, drew his sword, +displayed the royal standard, and assembling around +him the two captains and the rest who had landed, +he took solemn possession in the name of the +Castilian sovereigns, giving the island the name +of San Salvador. + + +HALLOWEEN + +(OCTOBER 31) + +THE OLD WITCH + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM (TRANSLATED) + +There was once a little girl who was very willful +and who never obeyed when her elders spoke to +her; so how could she be happy? + +One day she said to her parents: ``I have heard +so much of the old witch that I will go and see +her. People say she is a wonderful old woman, +and has many marvelous things in her house, and +I am very curious to see them.'' + +But her parents forbade her going, saying: +``The witch is a wicked old woman, who performs +many godless deeds; and if you go near her, you +are no longer a child of ours.'' + +The girl, however, would not turn back at her +parents' command, but went to the witch's house. +When she arrived there the old woman asked +her:-- + +``Why are you so pale?'' + +``Ah,'' she replied, trembling all over, ``I have +frightened myself so with what I have just seen.'' + +``And what did you see?'' inquired the old +witch. + +``I saw a black man on your steps.'' + +``That was a collier,'' replied she. + +``Then I saw a gray man.'' + +``That was a sportsman,'' said the old woman. + +``After him I saw a blood-red man.'' + +``That was a butcher,'' replied the old woman. + +``But, oh, I was most terrified,'' continued the +girl, ``when I peeped through your window, and +saw not you, but a creature with a fiery head.'' + +``Then you have seen the witch in her proper +dress,'' said the old woman. ``For you I have long +waited, and now you shall give me light.'' + +So saying the witch changed the little girl into +a block of wood, and then threw it on the fire; +and when it was fully alight, she sat down on the +hearth and warmed herself, saying:-- + +``How good I feel! The fire has not burned like +this for a long time!'' + + +SHIPPEITARO + +A JAPANESE FOLK-TALE: + +BY MARY F. NIXON-ROULET (ADAPTED)[10] + + +[10] From Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy Tales. Copyright, 1908, +by American Book Company. + + +Once upon a time there was a brave soldier lad +who was seeking his fortune in the wide, wide +world. One day he lost his way in a pathless +forest, and wandered about until he came at length +to a small clearing in the midst of which stood a +ruined temple. The huge trees waved above its +walls, and the leaves in the thicket whispered +around them. No sun ever shone there, and no +human being lived there. + +A storm was coming up, and the soldier lad took +refuge among the ruins. + +``Here is all I want,'' said he. ``Here I shall have +shelter from the storm-god's wrath, and a comfortable +place to sleep in.'' + +So he wrapped himself in his cloak, and, lying +down, was soon fast asleep. But his slumbers did +not last long. At midnight he was wakened by fearful +shrieks, and springing to his feet, he looked out +at the temple door. + +The storm was over. Moonlight shone on the +clearing. And there he saw what seemed to be a +troop of monstrous cats, who like huge phantoms +marched across the open space in front of the +temple. They broke into a wild dance, uttering +shrieks, howls, and wicked laughs. Then they all +sang together:-- + + ``Whisper not to Shippeitaro + That the Phantom Cats are near; + Whisper not to Shippeitaro, + Lest he soon appear!'' + + +The soldier lad crouched low behind the door, +for brave as he was he did not wish these fearful +creatures to see him. But soon, with a chorus +of wild yells, the Phantom Cats disappeared as +quickly as they had come, and all was quiet as +before. + +Then the soldier lad lay down and went to sleep +again, nor did he waken till the sun peered into +the temple and told him that it was morning. He +quickly found his way out of the forest and walked +on until he came to the cottage of a peasant. + +As he approached he heard sounds of bitter +weeping. A beautiful young maiden met him at +the door, and her eyes were red with crying. She +greeted him kindly. + +``May I have some food?'' said he. + +``Enter and welcome,'' she replied. ``My parents +are just having breakfast. You may join +them, for no one passes our door hungry.'' + +Thanking her the lad entered, and her parents +greeted him courteously but sadly, and shared +their breakfast with him. He ate heartily, and, +when he was finished, rose to go. + +``Thank you many times for this good meal, +kind friends,'' said he, ``and may happiness be +yours.'' + +``Happiness can never again be ours!'' +answered the old man, weeping. + +``You are in trouble, then,'' said the lad. ``Tell +me about it; perhaps I can help you in some way.'' + +``Alas!'' replied the old man, ``There is within +yonder forest a ruined temple. It is the abode of +horrors too terrible for words. Each year a demon, +whom no one has ever seen, demands that the +people of this land give him a beautiful maiden +to devour. She is placed in a cage and carried to +the temple just at sunset. This year it is my daughter's +turn to be offered to the fiend!'' And the old +man buried his face in his hands and groaned. + +The soldier lad paused to think for a moment, +then he said:-- + +``It is terrible, indeed! But do not despair. I +think I know a way to help you. Who is Shippeitaro?'' + +``Shippeitaro is a beautiful dog, owned by our +lord, the prince,'' answered the old man. + +``That is just the thing!'' cried the lad. ``Only +keep your daughter closely at home. Do not let +her out of your sight. Trust me and she shall be +saved.'' + +Then the soldier lad hurried away, and found +the castle of the prince. He begged that he might +borrow Shippeitaro just for one night. + +``You may take him upon the condition that +you bring him back safely,'' said the prince. + +``To-morrow he shall return in safety,'' +answered the lad. + +Taking Shippeitaro with him, he hurried to +the peasant's cottage, and, when evening was +come, he placed the dog in the cage which was to +have carried the maiden. The bearers then took +the cage to the ruined temple, and, placing it on +the ground, ran away as fast as their legs would +carry them. + +The lad, laughing softly to himself, hid inside +the temple as before, and so quiet was the spot +that he fell asleep. At midnight he was aroused +by the same wild shrieks he had heard the night +before. He rose and looked out at the temple door. + +Through the darkness, into the moonlight, came +the troop of Phantom Cats. This time they were +led by a fierce, black Tomcat. As they came nearer +they chanted with unearthly screeches:-- + + ``Whisper not to Shippeitaro + That the Phantom Cats are near; + Whisper not to Shippeitaro, + Lest he soon appear!'' + + +With that the great Tomcat caught sight of the +cage and, uttering a fearful yowl, sprang upon it, +With one blow of his claws he tore open the lid, +when, instead of the dainty morsel he expected, +out jumped Shippeitaro! + +The dog sprang upon the Tomcat, and caught +him by the throat; while the Phantom Cats stood +still in amazement. Drawing his sword the lad +hurried to Shippeitaro's side, and what with +Shippeitaro's teeth and the lad's hard blows, in +an instant the great Tomcat was torn and cut into +pieces. When the Phantom Cats saw this, they +uttered one wild shriek and fled away, never to +return again. + +Then the soldier lad, leading Shippeitaro, +returned in triumph to the peasant's cottage. There +in terror the maiden awaited his arrival, but great +was the joy of herself and her parents when they +knew that the Tomcat was no more. + +``Oh, sir,'' cried the maiden, ``I can never thank +you! I am the only child of my parents, and no +one would have been left to care for them if I +had been the monster's victim.'' + +``Do not thank me,'' answered the lad. ``Thank +the brave Shippeitaro. It was he who sprang upon +the great Tomcat and chased away the Phantom +Creatures.'' + + +HANSEL AND GRETHEL + +BY THE BROTIIERS GRIMM (ADAPTED) + +Hard-by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter +with his two children and his wife who was +their stepmother. The boy was called Hansel +and the girl Grethel. The wood-cutter had little +to bite and to break, and once when a great +famine fell on the land he could no longer get +daily bread. Now when he thought over this by +night in his bed, and tossed about in his trouble, +he groaned, and said to his wife:-- + +``What is to become of us? How are we to feed +our poor children, when we no longer have anything +even for ourselves?'' + +``I'll tell you what, husband,'' answered the +woman; ``early to-morrow morning we will take +the children out into the woods where it is the +thickest; there we will light a fire for them, and +give each of them one piece of bread more, and +then we will go to our work and leave them alone. +They will not find the way home again, and we +shall be rid of them.'' + +``No, wife,'' said the man, ``I will not do that; +how can I bear to leave my children alone in the +woods?--the wild beasts would soon come and +tear them to pieces.'' + +``Oh, you fool!'' said she. ``Then we must all +four die of hunger; you may as well plane the +planks for our coffins.'' And she left him no peace +until he said he would do as she wished. + +``But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all +the same,'' said the man. + +The two children had also not been able to +sleep for hunger, and had heard what their father's +wife had said to their father. + +Grethel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, +``Now all is over with us.'' + +``Be quiet, Grethel,'' said Hansel, ``do not be +troubled; I will soon find a way to help us.'' + +And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he +got up, put on his little coat, opened the door +below, and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, +and the white pebbles which lay in front of the +house shone like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped +and put as many of them in the little pocket of his +coat as he could make room for. Then he went +back, and said to Grethel, ``Be at ease, dear little +sister, and sleep in peace; God will not forsake us.'' +And he lay down again in his bed. + +When the day dawned, but before the sun had +risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, +saying:-- + +``Get up, you lazy things! we are going into the +forest to fetch wood.'' She gave each a little piece +of bread, and said, ``There is something for your +dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for you +will get nothing else.'' + +Grethel took the bread under her apron, as +Hansel had the stones in his pocket. Then they +all set out together on the way to the forest, +and Hansel threw one after another of the white +pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road. + +When they had reached the middle of the forest, +the father said, ``Now, children, pile up some wood +and I will light a fire that you may not be cold.'' + +Hansel and Grethel drew brushwood together +till it was as high as a little hill. + +The brushwood was lighted, and when the +flames were burning very high the woman said:-- + +``Now, children, lie down by the fire and rest; +we will go into the forest and cut some wood. +When we have done, we will come back and fetch +you away.'' + +Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when +noon came, each ate a little piece of bread, and +as they heard the strokes of the wood-axe they +were sure their father was near. But it was not +the axe, it was a branch which he had tied to a +dry tree, and the wind was blowing it backward +and forward. As they had been sitting such a long +time they were tired, their eyes shut, and they fell +fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was dark +night. + +Grethel began to cry, and said, ``How are we to +get out of the forest now?'' + +But Hansel comforted her, saying, ``Just wait +a little, until the moon has risen, and then we will +soon find the way.'' + +And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took +his little sister by the hand, and followed the +pebbles, which shone like bright silver pieces, +and showed them the way. + +They walked the whole night long, and by +break of day came once more to their father's +house. + +They knocked at the door, and when the woman +opened it, and saw that it was Hansel and Grethel, +she said, ``You naughty children, why have you +slept so long in the forest? we thought you were +never coming back at all!'' + +The father, however, was glad, for it had cut +him to the heart to leave them behind alone. + +Not long after, there was once more a great lack +of food in all parts, and the children heard the +woman saying at night to their father:-- + +``Everything is eaten again; we have one half- +loaf left, and after that there is an end. The +children must go; we will take them farther into the +wood, so that they will not find their way out again; +there is no other means of saving ourselves!'' + +The man's heart was heavy, and he thought, +``It would be better to share our last mouthful +with the children.'' + +The woman, however, would listen to nothing +he had to say, but scolded him. He who says A +must say B, too, and as he had given way the first +time, he had to do so a second time also. + +The children were still awake and had heard +the talk. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel +again got up, and wanted to go and pick up +pebbles, but the woman had locked the door, and +he could not get out. + +So he comforted his little sister, and said:-- + +``Do not cry, Grethel; go to sleep quietly, the +good God will help us.'' + +Early in the morning came the woman, and +took the children out of their beds. Their bit of +bread was given to them, but it was still smaller +than the time before. On the way into the forest +Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often +threw a morsel on the ground until little by little, +he had thrown all the crumbs on the path. + +The woman led the children still deeper into +the forest, where they had never in their lives been +before. Then a great fire was again made, and she +said:-- + +``Just sit there, you children, and when you +are tired you may sleep a little; we are going into +the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we +are done, we will come and fetch you away.'' + +When it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of +bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the +way. Then they fell asleep, and evening came and +went, but no one came to the poor children. + +They did not awake until it was dark night, and +Hansel comforted his little sister, and said:-- + +``Just wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and +then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I +have scattered about; they will show us our way +home again.'' + +When the moon came they set out, but they +found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds +which fly about in the woods and fields had picked +them all up. + +Hansel said to Grethel, ``We shall soon find the +way.'' + +But they did not find it. They walked the whole +night and all the next day, too, from morning +till evening, but they did not get out of the forest; +they were very hungry, for they had nothing to +eat but two or three berries which grew on the +ground. And as they were so tired that their legs +would carry them no longer, they lay down under +a tree and fell asleep. + +It was now three mornings since they had left +their father's house. They began to walk again, +but they always got deeper into the forest, and +if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger +and weariness. When it was midday, they +saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough. +It sang so sweetly that they stood still and +listened to it. And when it had done, it spread its +wings and flew away before them, and they followed +it until they reached a little house, on the +roof of which it perched; and when they came quite +up to the little house, they saw it was built of +bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows +were of clear sugar. + +``We will set to work on that,'' said Hansel, +``and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, +and you, Grethel, can eat some of the window, it +will taste sweet.'' + +Hansel reached up, and broke off a little of the +roof to try how it tasted, and Grethel leaned +against the window and nibbled at the panes. + +Then a soft voice cried from the room,-- + + ``Nibble, nibble, gnaw, + Who is nibbling at my little house?'' + + +The children answered:-- + + ``The wind, the wind, + The wind from heaven''; + +and went on eating. Hansel, who thought the +roof tasted very nice, tore down a great piece of +it; and Grethel pushed out the whole of one round +window-pane, sat down, and went to eating it. + +All at once the door opened, and a very, very +old woman, who leaned on crutches, came creeping +out. Hansel and Grethel were so scared that they +let fall what they had in their hands. + +The old woman, however, nodded her head, and +said, ``Oh, you dear children, who has brought you +here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm +shall happen to you.'' + +She took them both by the hand, and led them +into her little house. Then good food was set +before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, +and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little beds were +covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and +Grethel lay down in them, and thought they were +in heaven. + +The old woman had only pretended to be so +kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who +lay in wait for children, and had built the little +bread house in order to coax them there. + +Early in the morning, before the children were +awake, she was already up, and when she saw +both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with +their plump red cheeks, she muttered to herself, +``That will be a dainty mouthful!'' + +Then she seized Hansel, carried him into a little +stable, and shut him in behind a grated door. He +might scream as he liked,--it was of no use. Then +she went to Grethel, shook her till she awoke and +cried: ``Get up, lazy thing; fetch some water, and +cook something good for your brother; he is in the +stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he +is fat, I will eat him.'' + +Grethel began to weep, but it was all in vain; she +was forced to do what the wicked witch told her. + +And now the best food was cooked for poor +Hansel, but Grethel got nothing but crab-shells. + +Every morning the woman crept to the little +stable, and cried, ``Hansel, stretch out your finger +that I may feel if you will soon be fat.'' + +Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to +her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could +not see it; she thought it was Hansel's finger, and +wondered why he grew no fatter. When four weeks +had gone by, and Hansel still was thin, she could +wait no longer. + +``Come, Grethel,'' she cried to the girl, ``fly +round and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat +or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him.'' + +Ah, how sad was the poor little sister when she +had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow +down over her cheeks! + +``Dear God, do help us,'' she cried. ``If the +wild beasts in the forest had but eaten us, we +should at any rate have died together.'' + +``Just keep your noise to yourself,'' said the +old woman; ``all that won't help you at all.'' + +Early in the morning, Grethel had to go out and +hang up the kettle with the water, and light the fire. + +``We will bake first,'' said the old woman. ``I +have already heated the oven, and got the dough +ready.'' + +She pushed poor Grethel out to the oven, from +which the flames of fire were already darting. + +``Creep in,'' said the witch, ``and see if it is +heated, so that we can shut the bread in.'' And +when once Grethel was inside, she meant to shut +the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would +eat her, too. + +But Grethel saw what she had in her mind, and +said, ``I do not know how I am to do it; how do +you get in?'' + +``Silly goose,'' said the old woman. ``The door +is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!'' +and she crept up and thrust her head into the +oven. Then Grethel gave her a push that drove +her far into it, and shut the iron door, tight. + +Grethel ran as quick as lightning to Hansel, +opened his little stable, and cried, ``Hansel, we +are saved! The old witch is dead!'' + +Then Hansel sprang out like a bird from its +cage when the door is opened for it. How they did +dance about and kiss each other. And as they +had no longer any need to fear her, they went +into the witch's house, and in every corner there +stood chests full of pearls and jewels. + +``These are far better than pebbles!'' said +Hansel, and filled his pockets, and Grethel said, +``I, too, will take something home with me,'' and +filled her pinafore. + +``But now we will go away,'' said Hansel, ``that +we may get out of the witch's forest.'' When +they had walked for two hours, they came to a +great piece of water. ``We cannot get over,'' said +Hansel; ``I see no foot-plank and no bridge.'' + +``And no boat crosses, either,'' answered +Grethel, ``but a white duck is swimming there; if I +ask her, she will help us over.'' Then she cried,-- + + ``Little duck, little duck, dost thou see, + Hansel and Grethel are waiting for thee? + There's never a plank or bridge in sight, + Take us across on thy back so white.'' + + +The duck came to them, and Hansel sat on +its back, and told his sister to sit by him. + +``No,'' replied Grethel, ``that will be too +heavy for the little duck; she shall take us across, +one after the other.'' + +The good little duck did so, and when they were +once safely across and had walked for a short time, +they knew where they were, and at last they saw +from afar their father's house. + +Then they began to run, rushed in, and threw +themselves into their father's arms. The man +had not known one happy hour since he had left +the children in the forest; the woman, however, +was dead. Grethel emptied her pinafore until +pearls and precious stones rolled about the floor, +and Hansel threw one handful after another out +of his pocket to add to them. Then all care was +at an end, and they lived happily together ever +after. + +My tale is done; there runs a mouse; whosoever +catches it may make himself a big fur cap +out of it. + + +BURG HILL'S ON FIRE + +A CELTIC FAIRY TALE + +BY ELIZABETH W. GRIERSON (ADAPTED) + + +Once upon a time there was a rich farmer who had +a thrifty wife. She used to go out and gather all +the little bits of wool which she could find on the +hillsides, and bring them home. Then, after her +family had gone to bed, she would sit up and card +the wool and spin it into yarn, then she would +weave the yarn into cloth to make garments for +her children. + +But all this work made her feel very tired, so +that one night, sitting at her loom, she laid down +her shuttle and cried:-- + +``Oh, that some one would come from far or +near, from land or sea, to help me!'' + +No sooner had the words left her lips than she +heard some one knocking at the door. + +``Who is there?'' cried she. + +``Tell Quary, good housewife,'' answered a +wee, wee voice. ``Open the door to me. As long +as I have you'll get.'' + +She opened the door and there on the threshold +stood a queer, little woman, dressed in a green +gown and wearing a white cap on her head. + +The good housewife was so astonished that she +stood and stared at her strange visitor; but without +a word the little woman ran past her, and +seated herself at the spinning-wheel. + +The good housewife shut the door, but just then +she heard another knock. + +``Who is there?'' said she. + +``Tell Quary, good housewife. Open the door +to me,'' said another wee, wee voice. ``As long as +I have you'll get.'' + +And when she opened the door there was another +queer, little woman, in a lilac frock and a green +cap, standing on the threshold. + +She, too, ran into the house without waiting +to say, ``By your leave,'' and picking up the distaff, +began to put some wool on it. + +Then before the housewife could get the door +shut, a funny little manikin, with green trousers +and a red cap, came running in, and followed the +tiny women into the kitchen, seized hold of a handful +of wool, and began to card it. Another wee, +wee woman followed him, and then another tiny +manikin, and another, and another, until it +seemed to the good housewife that all the fairies +and pixies in Scotland were coming into her +house. + +The kitchen was alive with them. Some of them +hung the great pot over the fire to boil water to +wash the wool that was dirty. Some teased the +clean wool, and some carded it. Some spun it +into yarn, and some wove the yarn into great webs +of cloth. + +And the noise they made was like to make her +head run round. ``Splash! splash! Whirr! whirr! +Clack! clack!'' The water in the pot bubbled +over. The spinning-wheel whirred. The shuttle +in the loom flew backwards and forwards. + +And the worst of it was that all the Fairies cried +out for something to eat, and although the good +housewife put on her griddle and baked bannocks +as fast as she could, the bannocks were +eaten up the moment they were taken off the +fire, and yet the Fairies shouted for more. + +At last the poor woman was so troubled that +she went into the next room to wake her husband. +But although she shook him with all her might, +she could not wake him. It was very plain to see +that he was bewitched. + +Frightened almost out of her senses, and leaving +the Fairies eating her last batch of bannocks, she +stole out of the house and ran as fast as she could +to the cottage of the Wise Man who lived a mile +away. + +She knocked at his door till he got up and put +his head out of the window, to see who was there; +then she told him the whole story. + +``Thou foolish woman,'' said he, ``let this be a +lesson to thee never to pray for things thou dost +not need! Before thy husband can be loosed from +the spell the Fairies must be got out of the house +and the fulling-water, which they have boiled, +must be thrown over him. Hurry to the little hill +that lies behind thy cottage, climb to the top of +it, and set the bushes on fire; then thou must shout +three times: `BURG HILL'S ON FIRE!' Then will all the +little Fairies run out to see if this be true, for they +live under the hill. When they are all out of the +cottage, do thou slip in as quickly as thou canst, +and turn the kitchen upside down. Upset everything +the Fairies have worked with, else the things +their fingers have touched will open the door to +them, and let them in, in spite of thee.'' + +So the good housewife hurried away. She +climbed to the top of the little hill back of her +cottage, set the bushes on fire, and cried out three +times as loud as she was able: ``BURG HILL'S ON FIRE!'' + +And sure enough, the door of the cottage was +flung wide open, and all the little Fairies came +running out, knocking each other over in their +eagerness to be first at the hill. + +In the confusion the good housewife slipped +away, and ran as fast as she could to her cottage; +and when she was once inside, it did not take her +long to bar the door, and turn everything upside +down. + +She took the band off the spinning-wheel, and +twisted the head of the distaff the wrong way. She +lifted the pot of fulling-water off the fire, and +turned the room topsy-turvy, and threw down the +carding-combs. + +Scarcely had she done so, when the Fairies +returned, and knocked at the door. + +``Good housewife! let us in,'' they cried. + +``The door is shut and bolted, and I will not +open it,'' answered she. + +``Good spinning-wheel, get up and open the +door,'' they cried. + +``How can I,'' answered the spinning-wheel, +``seeing that my band is undone?'' + +``Kind distaff, open the door for us,'' said they. + +``That would I gladly do,'' said the distaff, +``but I cannot walk, for my head is turned the +wrong way.'' + +``Weaving-loom, have pity, and open the door.'' + +``I am all topsy-turvy, and cannot move,'' +sighed the loom. + +``Fulling-water, open the door,'' they implored. + +``I am off the fire,'' growled the fulling-water, +``and all my strength is gone.'' + +``Oh! Is there nothing that will come to our +aid, and open the door?'' they cried. + +``I will,'' said a little barley-bannock, that +had lain hidden, toasting on the hearth; and it +rose and trundled like a wheel quickly across the +floor. + +But luckily the housewife saw it, and she nipped +it between her finger and thumb, and, because it +was only half-baked, it fell with a ``splatch'' on +the cold floor. + +Then the Fairies gave up trying to get into the +kitchen, and instead they climbed up by the windows +into the room where the good housewife's +husband was sleeping, and they swarmed upon +his bed and tickled him until he tossed about +and muttered as if he had a fever. + +Then all of a sudden the good housewife +remembered what the Wise Man had said about the +fulling-water. She ran to the kitchen and lifted a +cupful out of the pot, and carried it in, and threw +it over the bed where her husband was. + +In an instant he woke up in his right senses. +Then he jumped out of bed, ran across the room +and opened the door, and the Fairies vanished. +And they have never been seen from that day to +this. + + +THE KING OF THE CATS + +AN ENGLISH FOLK-TALE + +BY ERNEST RHYS + +Once upon a time there were two brothers who +lived in a lonely house in a very lonely part of +Scotland. An old woman used to do the cooking, +and there was no one else, unless we count her +cat and their own dogs, within miles of them. + +One autumn afternoon the elder of the two, +whom we will call Elshender, said he would not +go out; so the younger one, Fergus, went alone to +follow the path where they had been shooting the +day before, far across the mountains. + +He meant to return home before the early +sunset; however, he did not do so, and Elshender +became very uneasy as he watched and waited +in vain till long after their usual supper-time. +At last Fergus returned, wet and exhausted, nor +did he explain why he was so late. + +But after supper when the two brothers were +seated before the fire, on which the peat crackled +cheerfully, the dogs lying at their feet, and the old +woman's black cat sitting gravely with half-shut +eyes on the hearth between them, Fergus recovered +himself and began to tell his adventures. + +``You must be wondering,'' said he, ``what +made me so late. I have had a very, very strange +adventure to-day. I hardly know what to say +about it. I went, as I told you I should, along our +yesterday's track. A mountain fog came on just +as I was about to turn homewards, and I completely +lost my way. I wandered about for a long +time not knowing where I was, till at last I saw a +light, and made for it, hoping to get help. + +``As I came near it, it disappeared, and I found +myself close to an old oak tree. I climbed into +the branches the better to look for the light, and, +behold! there it was right beneath me, inside the +hollow trunk of the tree. I seemed to be looking +down into a church, where a funeral was taking +place. I heard singing, and saw a coffin +surrounded by torches, all carried by--But I know +you won't believe me, Elshender, if I tell you!'' + +His brother eagerly begged him to go on, and +threw a dry peat on the fire to encourage him. +The dogs were sleeping quietly, but the cat was +sitting up, and seemed to be listening just as +carefully and cannily as Elshender himself. Both +brothers, indeed, turned their eyes on the cat as +Fergus took up his story. + +``Yes,'' he continued, ``it is as true as I sit here. +The coffin and the torches were both carried by +CATS, and upon the coffin were marked a crown and +a scepter!'' + +He got no farther, for the black cat started up, +shrieking:-- + +``My stars! old Peter's dead, and I'm the King +o' the Cats!''--Then rushed up the chimney, +and was seen no more. + + +THE STRANGE VISITOR + +AN ENGLISH FOLK-TALE + +BY JOSEPH JACOBS + +A woman was sitting at her reel one night; and +still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she +wished for company. + +In came a pair of broad, broad soles, and sat down + at the fireside! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of small, small legs, and sat down + on the broad, broad soles! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of thick, thick knees, and sat down + on the small, small legs! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of thin, thin thighs, and sat down + on the thick, thick knees! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of huge, huge hips, and sat down + on the thin, thin thighs! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a wee, wee waist, and sat down on the + huge, huge hips! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of broad, broad shoulders, and sat + down on the wee, wee waist! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of small, small arms, and sat down + on the broad, broad shoulders! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a pair of huge, huge hands, and sat down + on the small, small arms! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a small, small neck, and sat down on the + broad, broad shoulders! + +And still she sat, and still she reeled, and still she + wished for company. + +In came a huge, huge head, and sat down on the + small, small neck! + + . . . . . . . . . + +``How did you get such broad, broad feet?'' + quoth the Woman. +``Much tramping, much tramping!'' (GRUFFLY.) + +``How did you get such small, small legs?'' +``AIH-H-H!--late--and WEE-E-E-moul!'' (WHININGLY.) + +``How did you get such thick, thick knees?'' +``Much praying, much praying!'' (PIOUSLY.) + +``How did you get such thin, thin thighs?'' +``Aih-h-h!--late--and wee-e-e-moul!'' (WHININGLY.) + +``How did you get such big, big hips?'' +``Much sitting, much sitting!'' (GRUFFLY.) + +``How did you get such a wee, wee waist?'' +``Aih-h-h!--late--and wee-e-e-moul!'' (WHININGLY.) + +``How did you get such broad, broad shoulders?'' +``With carrying broom, with carrying broom!'' + (GRUFFLY.) + +``How did you get such small arms?'' +``Aih-h-h!--late--and wee-e-e-moul!'' (WHININGLY.) + +``How did you get such huge, huge hands?'' +``Threshing with an iron flail! Threshing with an + iron flail!'' (GRUFFLY.) + +``How did you get such a small, small neck?'' +``Aih-h-h!--late--and wee-e-e-moul!'' (PITIFULLY.) + +``How did you get such a huge, huge head?'' +``Much knowledge, much knowledge!'' (KEENLY.) + +``What do you come for?'' +``FOR YOU! ! !'' (AT THE TOP OF THE VOICE, WITH A +WAVE OF THE ARMS AND A STAMP OF THE FEET.) + + +THE BENEVOLENT GOBLIN + +FROM GESTA ROMANORUM (ADAPTED) + +In the kingdom of England there is a hillock in +the midst of a dense wood. Thither in old days +knights and their followers were wont to repair +when tired and thirsty after the chase. When one +of their number called out, ``I thirst!'' there +immediately started up a Goblin with a cheerful +countenance, clad in a crimson robe, and bearing +in his outstretched hand a large drinking-horn +richly ornamented with gold and precious jewels, +and full of the most delicious, unknown beverage. + +The Goblin presented the horn to the thirsty +knight, who drank and instantly felt refreshed +and cool. After the drinker had emptied the horn, +the Goblin offered a silken napkin to wipe the +mouth. Then, without waiting to be thanked, the +strange creature vanished as suddenly as he had +come. + +Now once there was a knight of churlish nature, +who was hunting alone in those parts. Feeling +thirsty and fatigued, he visited the hillock and +cried out:-- + +``I thirst!'' + +Instantly the Goblin appeared and presented +the horn. + +When the knight had drained it of its delicious +beverage, instead of returning the horn, he thrust +it into his bosom, and rode hastily away. + +He boasted far and wide of his deed, and his +feudal lord hearing thereof caused him to be +bound and cast into prison; then fearing lest he, +too, might become partaker in the theft and +ingratitude of the knight, the lord presented the +jeweled horn to the King of England, who carefully +preserved it among the royal treasures. But +never again did the benevolent Goblin return to +the hillock in the wood. + + +THE PHANTOM KNIGHT OF THE +VANDAL CAMP + +FROM GESTA ROMANORUM (ADAPTED) + +There was once in Great Britain, a knight named +Albert, strong in arms and adorned with every +virtue. One day as he was seeking for adventure, +he chanced to wander into a castle where he was +hospitably entertained. + +At night, after supper, as was usual in great +families during the winter, the household gathered +about the hearth and occupied the time in +relating divers tales. + +At last they told how in the near-by plain of +Wandlesbury there was a haunted mound. There +in old days the Vandals, who laid waste the land +and slaughtered Christians, had pitched their +camp and built about it a great rampart. And it +was further related that in the hush of the night, +if any one crossed the plain, ascended the mound, +and called out in a loud voice, ``Let my adversary +appear!'' there immediately started up from the +ruined ramparts a huge, ghostly figure, armed +and mounted for battle. This phantom then +attacked the knight who had cried out and +speedily overcame him. + +Now, when Albert heard this marvelous tale, he +greatly doubted its truth, and was determined to +put the matter to a test. As the moon was shining +brightly, and the night was quiet, he armed, +mounted, and immediately hastened to the plain +of Wandlesbury, accompanied by a squire of noble +blood. + +He ascended the mound, dismissed his attendant, +and shouted:-- + +``Let my adversary appear!'' + +Instantly there sprang from the ruins a huge, +ghostly knight completely armed and mounted on +an enormous steed. + +This phantom rushed upon Albert, who spurred +his horse, extended his shield, and drove at his +antagonist with his lance. Both knights were +shaken by the encounter. Albert, however, so +resolutely and with so strong an arm pressed his +adversary that the latter was thrown violently to +the ground. Seeing this Albert hastily seized the +steed of the fallen knight, and started to leave +the mound. + +But the phantom, rising to his feet, and seeing +his horse led away, flung his lance and cruelly +wounded Albert in the thigh. This done he vanished +as suddenly as he had appeared. + +Our knight, overjoyed at his victory, returned +in triumph to the castle, where the household +crowded around him and praised his bravery. But +when he put off his armor he found the cuish +from his right thigh filled with clots of blood +from an angry wound in his side. The family, +alarmed, hastened to apply healing herbs and +bandages. + +The captured horse was then brought forward. +He was prodigiously large, and black as jet. His +eyes were fierce and flashing, his neck proudly +arched, and he wore a glittering war-saddle upon +his back. + +As the first streaks of dawn began to appear, +the animal reared wildly, snorted as if with pain +and anger, and struck the ground so furiously +with his hoofs that the sparks flew. The black +cock of the castle crew and the horse, uttering a +terrible cry, instantly disappeared. + +And every year, on the selfsame night, at the +selfsame hour, the wounds of the knight Albert +broke out afresh, and tormented him with agony. +Thus till his dying day he bore in his body a +yearly reminder of his encounter with the Phantom +Knight of the Vandal Camp. + + +THANKSGIVING DAY + +(LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER) + +THE FIRST HARVEST-HOME IN +PLYMOUTH + +BY W. DE LOSS LOVE, JR (ADAPTED) + +After prayer and fasting and a farewell feast, +the Pilgrim Fathers left the City of Leyden, and +sought the new and unknown land. ``So they lefte +y<St> goodly & pleasante citie,'' writes their historian +Bradford, ``which had been ther resting place +near 12 years, but they knew they were pilgrimes +& looked not much on those things, but lift up +their eyes to y<Se> Heavens their dearest cuntrie, and +quieted their spirits.'' + +When, after many vexing days upon the deep, +the pilgrims first sighted the New World, they +were filled with praise and thanksgiving. Going +ashore they fell upon their knees and blessed the +God of Heaven. And after that, whenever they +were delivered from accidents or despair, they +gave God ``solemne thanks and praise.'' Such +were the Pilgrims and such their habit day by +day. + +The first winter in the New World was marked +by great suffering and want. Hunger and illness +thinned the little colony, and caused many +graves to be made on the near-by hillside. + +The spring of 1621 opened. The seed was sown +in the fields. The colonists cared for it without +ceasing, and watched its growth with anxiety; for +well they knew that their lives depended upon a +full harvest. + +The days of spring and summer flew by, and the +autumn came. Never in Holland or England had +the Pilgrims seen the like of the treasures bounteous +Nature now spread before them. The woodlands +were arrayed in gorgeous colors, brown, +crimson, and gold, and swarmed with game of all +kinds, that had been concealed during the summer. +The little farm-plots had been blessed by the +sunshine and showers, and now plentiful crops +stood ready for the gathering. The Pilgrims, +rejoicing, reaped the fruit of their labors, and +housed it carefully for the winter. Then, filled +with the spirit of thanksgiving, they held the first +harvest-home in New England. + +For one whole week they rested from work, +feasted, exercised their arms, and enjoyed various +recreations. Many Indians visited the colony, +amongst these their greatest king, Massasoit, with +ninety of his braves. The Pilgrims entertained +them for three days. And the Indians went out +into the woods and killed fine deer, which they +brought to the colony and presented to the governor +and the captain and others. So all made +merry together. + +And bountiful was the feast. Oysters, fish and +wild turkey, Indian maize and barley bread, +geese and ducks, venison and other savory meats, +decked the board. Kettles, skillets, and spits were +overworked, while knives and spoons, kindly +assisted by fingers, made merry music on pewter +plates. Wild grapes, ``very sweete and strong,'' +added zest to the feast. As to the vegetables, why, +the good governor describes them thus:-- + + ``All sorts of grain which our own land doth yield, + Was hither brought, and sown in every field; + As wheat and rye, barley, oats, beans, and pease + Here all thrive and they profit from them raise; + All sorts of roots and herbs in gardens grow,-- + Parsnips, carrots, turnips, or what you'll sow, + Onions, melons, cucumbers, radishes, + Skirets, beets, coleworts and fair cabbages.'' + + +Thus a royal feast it was the Pilgrims spread +that first golden autumn at Plymouth, a feast +worthy of their Indian guests. + +All slumbering discontents they smothered with +common rejoicings. When the holiday was over, +they were surely better, braver men because they +had turned aside to rest awhile and be thankful +together. So the exiles of Leyden claimed the +harvests of New England. + +This festival was the bursting into life of a new +conception of man's dependence on God's gifts in +Nature. It was the promise of autumnal +Thanksgivings to come. + + +THE MASTER OF THE HARVEST + +BY MRS. ALFRED GATTY (ADAPTED) + +The Master of the Harvest walked by the side of +his cornfields in the springtime. A frown was on +his face, for there had been no rain for several +weeks, and the earth was hard from the parching +of the east winds. The young wheat had not been +able to spring up. + +So as he looked over the long ridges that +stretched in rows before him, he was vexed and +began to grumble and say:-- + +``The harvest will be backward, and all things +will go wrong.'' + +Then he frowned more and more, and uttered +complaints against Heaven because there was no +rain; against the earth because it was so dry; +against the corn because it had not sprung up. + +And the Master's discontent was whispered all +over the field, and along the ridges where the +corn-seed lay. And the poor little seeds murmured:-- + +``How cruel to complain! Are we not doing our +best? Have we let one drop of moisture pass by +unused? Are we not striving every day to be +ready for the hour of breaking forth? Are we +idle? How cruel to complain!'' + +But of all this the Master of the Harvest heard +nothing, so the gloom did not pass from his face. +Going to his comfortable home he repeated to his +wife the dark words, that the drought would ruin +the harvest, for the corn was not yet sprung up. + +Then his wife spoke cheering words, and taking +her Bible she wrote some texts upon the flyleaf, +and after them the date of the day. + +And the words she wrote were these: ``The eyes +of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their +meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand +and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. +How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! +therefore the children of men put their trust under +the shadow of Thy wings. Thou hast put gladness +in my heart, more than in the time that their corn +and their wine increased.'' + +And so a few days passed as before, and the +house was gloomy with the discontent of the Master. +But at last one evening there was rain all over +the land, and when the Master of the Harvest +went out the next morning for his early walk by +the cornfields, the corn had sprung up at last. + +The young shoots burst out at once, and very +soon all along the ridges were to be seen rows of +tender blades, tinting the whole field with a +delicate green. And day by day the Master of the +Harvest saw them, and was satisfied, but he +spoke of other things and forgot to rejoice. + +Then a murmur rose among the corn-blades. + +``The Master was angry because we did not come +up; now that we have come forth why is he not +glad? Are we not doing our best? From morning +and evening dews, from the glow of the sun, +from the juices of the earth, from the freshening +breezes, even from clouds and rain, are we not +taking food and strength, warmth and life? Why +does he not rejoice?'' + +And when the Master's wife asked him if the +wheat was doing well he answered, ``Fairly well,'' +and nothing more. + +But the wife opened her Book, and wrote again +on the flyleaf: ``Who hath divided a watercourse +for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the +lightning of thunder, to cause it to rain on the +earth where no man is, on the wilderness wherein +there is no man, to satisfy the desolate and waste +ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb +to spring forth? For He maketh small the drops +of water; they pour down rain according to the +vapor thereof, which the clouds do drop and distil +upon man abundantly. Also can any understand +the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his +tabernacle?'' + +Very peaceful were the next few weeks. All +nature seemed to rejoice in the fine weather. The +corn-blades shot up strong and tall. They burst +into flowers and gradually ripened into ears of +grain. But alas! the Master of the Harvest had +still some fault to find. He looked at the ears +and saw that they were small. He grumbled and +said:-- + +``The yield will be less than it ought to be. The +harvest will be bad.'' + +And the voice of his discontent was breathed +over the cornfield where the plants were growing +and growing. They shuddered and murmured: +``How thankless to complain! Are we not growing +as fast as we can? If we were idle would we +bear wheat-ears at all? How thankless to complain!'' + +Meanwhile a few weeks went by and a drought +settled on the land. Rain was needed, so that the +corn-ears might fill. And behold, while the wish +for rain was yet on the Master's lips, the sky +became full of heavy clouds, darkness spread over +the land, a wild wind arose, and the roaring of +thunder announced a storm. And such a storm! +Along the ridges of corn-plants drove the rain- +laden wind, and the plants bent down before it +and rose again like the waves of the sea. They +bowed down and they rose up. Only where the +whirlwind was the strongest they fell to the +ground and could not rise again. + +And when the storm was over, the Master of +the Harvest saw here and there patches of over- +weighted corn, yet dripping from the thunder- +shower, and he grew angry with them, and forgot +to think of the long ridges where the corn-plants +were still standing tall and strong, and where the +corn-ears were swelling and rejoicing. + +His face grew darker than ever. He railed +against the rain. He railed against the sun +because it did not shine. He blamed the wheat +because it might perish before the harvest. + +``But why does he always complain?'' moaned +the corn-plants. ``Have we not done our best +from the first? Has not God's blessing been with +us? Are we not growing daily more beautiful in +strength and hope? Why does not the Master +trust, as we do, in the future richness of the +harvest?'' + +Of all this the Master of the Harvest heard +nothing. But his wife wrote on the flyleaf of her +Book: ``He watereth the hills from his chambers, +the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. +He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and +herb for the service of man, that he may bring +forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh +glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face +to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's +heart.'' + +And day by day the hours of sunshine were +more in number. And by degrees the green corn- +ears ripened into yellow, and the yellow turned +into gold, and the abundant harvest was ready, +and the laborers were not wanting. + +Then the bursting corn broke out into songs +of rejoicing. ``At least we have not labored and +watched in vain! Surely the earth hath yielded +her increase! Blessed be the Lord who daily +loadeth us with benefits! Where now is the Master +of the Harvest? Come, let him rejoice with us!'' + +And the Master's wife brought out her Book +and her husband read the texts she had written +even from the day when the corn-seeds were held +back by the first drought, and as he read a new +heart seemed to grow within him, a heart that was +thankful to the Lord of the Great Harvest. And +he read aloud from the Book:-- + +``Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; thou +greatly enrichest it with the river of God which +is full of water; thou preparest them corn, when +thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the +ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the furrows +thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; +thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou +crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths +drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the +wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every +side. The pastures are clothed with flocks. The +valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout +for joy, they also sing.--O that men would praise +the Lord for His goodness, and for his wonderful +works to the children of men!'' + + +SAINT CUTHBERT'S EAGLE + +BY THE VENERABLE BEDE (ADAPED) + +Once upon a time, the good Saint Cuthbert of +Lindesfarne, went forth from his monastery to +preach to the poor. He took with him a young +lad as his only attendant. Together they walked +along the dusty way. The heat of the noonday +sun beat upon their heads, and fatigue overcame +them. + +``Son,'' said Saint Cuthbert, ``do you know +any one on the road, whom we may ask for food +and a place in which to rest?'' + +``I was just thinking the same thing,'' answered +the lad, ``but I know nobody on the road who will +entertain us. Alas! why did we not bring along +provisions? How can we proceed on our long +journey without them?'' + +``My son,'' answered the saint, ``learn to have +trust in God, who never will suffer those to perish +of hunger who believe in Him.'' + +Then looking up and seeing an eagle flying in +the air, he added, ``Do you see the eagle yonder? +It is possible for God to feed us by means of this +bird.'' + +While they were talking thus, they came to a +river, and, lo! the eagle stood on the bank. + +``Son,'' said Saint Cuthbert, ``run and see what +provision God has made for us by his handmaid +the bird.'' + +The lad ran, and found a good-sized fish that +the eagle had just caught. This he brought to the +saint. + +``What have you done?'' exclaimed the good +man, ``why have you not given a part to God's +handmaid? Cut the fish in two pieces, and give +her one, as her service well deserves.'' + +The lad did as he was bidden, and the eagle, +taking the half fish in her beak, flew away. + +Then entering a neighboring village, Saint +Cuthbert gave the other half to a peasant to cook, +and while the lad and the villagers feasted, the +good saint preached to them the Word of God + + +THE EARS OF WHEAT + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM (TRANSLATED) + +Ages upon ages ago, says the German grandmother, +when angels used to wander on earth, the +ground was more fruitful than it is now. Then the +stalks of wheat bore not fifty or sixty fold, but +four times five hundred fold. Then the wheat- +ears grew from the bottom to the top of the stalk. +But the men of the earth forgot that this blessing +came from God, and they became idle and selfish. + +One day a woman went through a wheat-field, +and her little child, who accompanied her, fell +into a puddle and soiled her frock. The mother +tore off a handful of the wheat-ears and cleaned +the child's dress with them. + +Just then an angel passed by and saw her. +Wrathfully he spoke:-- + +``Wasteful woman, no longer shall the wheat- +stalks produce ears. You mortals are not worthy +of the gifts of Heaven!'' + +Some peasants who were gathering wheat in +the fields heard this, and falling on their knees, +prayed and entreated the angel to leave the wheat +alone, not only on their account, but for the sake +of the little birds who otherwise must perish of +hunger. + +The angel pitied their distress, and granted a +part of the prayer. And from that day to this the +ears of wheat have grown as they do now. + + +HOW INDIAN CORN CAME INTO THE +WORLD + +AN OJIBBEWAY LEGEND + +BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT (ADAPTED) + +Long, long ago, in a beautiful part of this country, +there lived an Indian with his wife and children. +He was poor and found it hard to provide food +enough for his family. But though needy he was +kind and contented, and always gave thanks to +the Great Spirit for everything that he received. +His eldest son, Wunzh, was likewise kind and +gentle and thankful of heart, and he longed +greatly to do something for his people. + +The time came that Wunzh reached the age +when every Indian boy fasts so that he may see in +a vision the Spirit that is to be his guide through +life. Wunph's father built him a little lodge apart, +so that the boy might rest there undisturbed during +his days of fasting. Then Wunzh withdrew to +begin the solemn rite. + +On the first day he walked alone in the woods +looking at the flowers and plants, and filling his +mind with the beautiful images of growing things +so that he might see them in his night-dreams. He +saw how the flowers and herbs and berries grew, +and he knew that some were good for food, and +that others healed wounds and cured sickness. +And his heart was filled with even a greater +longing to do something for his family and his +tribe. + +``Truly,'' thought he, ``the Great Spirit made +all things. To Him we owe our lives. But could +He not make it easier for us to get our food than +by hunting and catching fish? I must try to find +this out in my vision.'' + +So Wunzh returned to his lodge and fasted +and slept. On the third day he became weak and +faint. Soon he saw in a vision a young brave +coming down from the sky and approaching the +lodge. He was clad in rich garments of green and +yellow colors. On his head was a tuft of nodding +green plumes, and all his motions were graceful +and swaying. + +``I am sent to you, O Wunzh,'' said the sky- +stranger, ``by that Great Spirit who made all +things in sky and earth. He has seen your fasting, +and knows how you wish to do good to your people, +and that you do not seek for strength in war +nor for the praise of warriors. I am sent to tell +you how you may do good to your kindred. Arise +and wrestle with me, for only by overcoming me +may you learn the secret.'' + +Wunzh, though he was weak from fasting, felt +courage grow in his heart, and he arose and +wrestled with the stranger. But soon he became +weaker and exhausted, and the stranger, seeing +this, smiled gently on him and said: ``My friend, +this is enough for once, I will come again +to-morrow.'' And he vanished as suddenly as he had +appeared. + +The next day the stranger came, and Wunzh felt +himself weaker than before; nevertheless he rose +and wrestled bravely. Then the stranger spoke a +second time. ``My friend,'' he said, ``have courage! +To-morrow will be your last trial.'' And he +disappeared from Wunzh's sight. + +On the third day the stranger came as before, +and the struggle was renewed. And Wunzh, +though fainter in body, grew strong in mind and +will, and he determined to win or perish in the +attempt. He exerted all his powers, and, lo! in a +while, he prevailed and overcame the stranger. + +``O Wunzh, my friend,'' said the conquered +one, ``you have wrestled manfully. You have met +your trial well. To-morrow I shall come again and +you must wrestle with me for the last time. You +will prevail. Do you then strip off my garments, +throw me down, clean the earth of roots and +weeds, and bury me in that spot. When you have +done so, leave my body in the ground. Come +often to the place and see whether I have come to +life, but be careful not to let weeds or grass grow +on my grave. If you do all this well, you will soon +discover how to benefit your fellow creatures.'' +Having said this the stranger disappeared. + +In the morning Wunzh's father came to him +with food. ``My son,'' he said, ``you have fasted +long. It is seven days since you have tasted food, +and you must not sacrifice your life. The Master +of Life does not require that.'' + +``My father,'' replied the boy, ``wait until the +sun goes down to-morrow. For a certain reason I +wish to fast until that hour.'' + +``Very well,'' said the old man, ``I shall wait +until the time arrives when you feel inclined to +eat.'' And he went away. + +The next day, at the usual hour, the sky +stranger came again. And, though Wunzh had +fasted seven days, he felt a new power arise within +him. He grasped the stranger with superhuman +strength, and threw him down. He took from him +his beautiful garments, and, finding him dead, +buried him in the softened earth, and did all else +as he had been directed. + +He then returned to his father's lodge, and +partook sparingly of food. There he abode for some +time. But he never forgot the grave of his friend. +Daily he visited it, and pulled up the weeds and +grass, and kept the earth soft and moist. Very +soon, to his great wonder, he saw the tops of green +plumes coming through the ground. + +Weeks passed by, the summer was drawing to a +close. One day Wunzh asked his father to follow +him. He led him to a distant meadow. There, in +the place where the stranger had been buried, +stood a tall and graceful plant, with bright- +colored, silken hair, and crowned by nodding +green plumes. Its stalk was covered with waving +leaves, and there grew from its sides clusters of +milk-filled ears of corn, golden and sweet, each +ear closely wrapped in its green husks. + +``It is my friend!'' shouted the boy joyously; +``it is Mondawmin, the Indian Corn! We need +no longer depend on hunting, so long as this gift +is planted and cared for. The Great Spirit has +heard my voice and has sent us this food.'' + +Then the whole family feasted on the ears of +corn and thanked the Great Spirit who gave it. So +Indian Corn came into the world. + + +THE NUTCRACKER DWARF + +BY COUNT FRANZ POCCI (TRANSLATED) + +Two boys gathered some hazelnuts in the woods. +They sat down under a tree and tried to eat them, +but they did not have their knives, and could not +bite open the nuts with their teeth. + +``Oh,'' they complained, ``if only some one +would come and open the nuts for us!'' + +Hardly had they said this when a little man +came through the woods. And such a strange +little man! He had a great, great head, and from +the back of it a slender pigtail hung down to his +heels. He wore a golden cap, a red coat and yellow +stockings. + + +As he came near he sang:-- + + ``Hight! hight! Bite! bite! + Hans hight I! Nuts bite I! + I chase the squirrels through the trees, + I gather nuts just as I please, + I place them 'twixt my jaws so strong, + And crack and eat them all day long!'' + + +The boys almost died of laughter when they +saw this funny little man, who they knew was a +Wood Dwarf. + +They called out to him: ``If you know how to +crack nuts, why, come here and open ours.'' + +But the little man grumbled through his long +white beard:-- + + ``If I crack the nuts for you + Promise that you'll give me two.'' + + +``Yes, yes,'' cried the boys, ``you shall have all +the nuts you wish, only crack some for us, and be +quick about it!'' + +The little man stood before them, for he could +not sit down because of his long, stiff pigtail that +hung down behind, and he sang:-- + + ``Lift my pigtail, long and thin, + Place your nuts my jaws within, + Pull the pigtail down, and then + I'll crack your nuts, my little men.'' + + +The boys did as they were told, laughing hard +all the time. Whenever they pulled down the pigtail, +there was a sharp CRACK, and a broken nut +sprang out of the Nutcracker's mouth. + +Soon all the hazelnuts were opened, and the +little man grumbled again:-- + + ``Hight! hight! Bite! bite! + Your nuts are cracked, and now my pay + I'll take and then I'll go away.'' + + +Now one of the boys wished to give the little +man his promised reward, but the other, who was +a bad boy, stopped him, saying:-- + +``Why do you give that old fellow our nuts? +There are only enough for us. As for you, +Nutcracker, go away from here and find some for +yourself.'' + +Then the little man grew angry, and he +grumbled horribly:-- + + ``If you do not pay my fee, + Why, then, you've told a lie to me! + I am hungry, you're well fed, + Quick, or I'll bite off your head!'' + + +But the bad boy only laughed and said: ``You 'll +bite off my head, will you! Go away from here +just as fast as you can, or you shall feel these nut- +shells,'' and he shook his fist at the little man. + +The Nutcracker grew red with rage. He pulled +up his pigtail, snapping his jaws together,--CRACK, +--and the bad boy's head was off. + + +THE PUMPKIN PIRATES + +A TALE FROM LUCIAN + +BY ALFRED J. CHURCH (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time, one Lucian the Greek was +filled with a desire to see strange countries, and +especially to discover whether there was any +opposite shore to the ocean by which he lived. + +So having purchased a vessel, he strengthened +it for a voyage, that he knew would without doubt +be long and stormy. Then he chose fifty stout +young fellows having the same love of adventure +as himself, and next he hired the best captain that +could be got for money, and put a store of provisions +and water on board. + +All this being done, he set sail. For many days +he and his companions voyaged on deep waters +and in strange seas. At times the wind was fair +and gentle, and at others it blew so hard that the +sea rose in a terrible manner. + +One day there came a violent whirlwind which +twisted the ship about, and, lifting it into the air, +carried it upward into the sky, until it reached +the Moon. There Lucian and his comrades disembarked +and visited the inhabitants of Moonland. +They took part in a fierce battle between the +Moon-Folk, the Sun-Folk, and an army of Vulture- +Horsemen; and, after many other wonderful +adventures, they departed from Moonland, and +sailing through the sky, visited the Morning Star. +Then the wind dropping, the ship settled once +more upon the sea, and they sailed on the water. + +One morning the wind began to blow vehemently, +and they were driven by storm for days. +On the third day they fell in with the Pumpkin +Pirates. These were savages who were wont to +sally forth from the islands that lay in the seas +thereabouts, and plunder them that sailed by. + +For ships they had large pumpkins, each being +not less than ninety feet in length. These pumpkins +they dried, and afterward dug out all the +inner part of them till they were quite hollow. +For masts they had reeds, and for sails, in the +place of canvas, pumpkin leaves. + +These savages attacked Lucian's vessel with +two ships' or rather two pumpkins' crews, and +wounded many of his company. For stones they +used the pumpkin-seeds, which were about the +bigness of a large apple. + +Lucian's company fought for some time, +without gaining the advantage, when about noon they +saw coming toward them, in the rear of the Pumpkin +Pirates, the Nut-Shell Sailors. These two +tribes were at war with each other. + +As soon as the Pumpkin Pirates saw the others +approaching, they left off fighting Lucian's crew, +and prepared to give battle to the Nut-Shell Sailors. +When Lucian saw this he ordered the captain +to set all sails; and they departed with speed. But +looking back he could see that the Nut-Shell Sailors +had the best of the battle, being superior in +numbers, having five crews against two of the +Pumpkin Pirates, and also because their ships +were stronger. As for their ships, they were the +shells of nuts which had been split in half, each +measuring fifteen fathoms, or thereabouts. + +As soon as the Pumpkin Pirates and the Nut- +Shell Sailors were out of sight, Lucian set himself +to dressing the wounds of his injured companions. +And from that time on both Lucian and his crew +wore their armor continually, not knowing when +another strange enemy might come upon them. + + +THE SPIRIT OF THE CORN + +AN IROQUOIS LEGEND + +BY HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE (ADAPTED) + +There was a time, says the Iroquois grandmother, +when it was not needful to plant the corn- +seed nor to hoe the fields, for the corn sprang up of +itself, and filled the broad meadows. Its stalks +grew strong and tall, and were covered with leaves +like waving banners, and filled with ears of pearly +grain wrapped in silken green husks. + +In those days Onatah, the Spirit of the Corn, +walked upon the earth. The sun lovingly touched +her dusky face with the blush of the morning, and +her eyes grew soft as the gleam of the stars on +dark streams. Her night-black hair was spread +before the breeze like a wind-driven cloud. + +As she walked through the fields, the corn, the +Indian maize, sprang up of itself from the earth +and filled the air with its fringed tassels and +whispering leaves. With Onatah walked her two +sisters, the Spirits of the Squash and the Bean. As +they passed by, squash-vines and bean-plants +grew from the corn-hills. + +One day Onatah wandered away alone in search +of early dew. Then the Evil One of the earth, +Hahgwehdaetgah, followed swiftly after. He +grasped her by the hair and dragged her beneath +the ground down to his gloomy cave. Then, sending +out his fire-breathing monsters, he blighted +Onatah's grain. And when her sisters, the Spirits +of the Squash and the Bean, saw the flame- +monsters raging through the fields, they flew far +away in terror. + +As for poor Onatah, she lay a trembling captive +in the dark prison-cave of the Evil One. She +mourned the blight of her cornfields, and sorrowed +over her runaway sisters. + +``O warm, bright sun!'' she cried, ``if I may +walk once more upon the earth, never again will I +leave my corn!'' + +And the little birds of the air heard her cry, and +winging their way upward they carried her vow +and gave it to the sun as he wandered through the +blue heavens. + +The sun, who loved Onatah, sent out many +searching beams of light. They pierced through +the damp earth, and entering the prison-cave, +guided her back again to her fields. + +And ever after that she watched her fields alone, +for no more did her sisters, the Spirits of the +Squash and Bean, watch with her. If her fields +thirsted, no longer could she seek the early dew. +If the flame-monsters burned her corn, she could +not search the skies for cooling winds. And when +the great rains fell and injured her harvest, her +voice grew so faint that the friendly sun could not +hear it. + +But ever Onatah tenderly watched her fields +and the little birds of the air flocked to her service. +They followed her through the rows of corn, and +made war on the tiny enemies that gnawed at the +roots of the grain. + +And at harvest-time the grateful Onatah +scattered the first gathered corn over her broad lands, +and the little birds, fluttering and singing, joyfully +partook of the feast spread for them on the +meadow-ground. + + +THE HORN OF PLENTY + +BY OVID (ADAPTED) + +Aeneus, King of Aetolia, had a daughter whose +name was Deianira. So beautiful was the maiden +that her fame spread throughout the world, and +many princes came to woo her. Among these were +two strangers, who drove all the other suitors from +the hall of King Aeneus. + +One was Hercules, huge of limb and broad of +shoulder. He was clad in the skins of beasts, and +carried in his hand a knotted club. His tangled +hair hung down upon his brawny neck, and his +fierce eyes gleamed from behind his shaggy brows. + +The other stranger was Achelous, god of the +Calydonian River. Slender and graceful was he, +and clad in flowing green raiment. In his hand he +carried a staff of plaited reeds, and on his head was +a crown of water-lilies. His voice was soft and +caressing, like the gentle murmur of summer brooks. + +``O King Aeneus,'' said Achelous, standing +before the throne, ``behold I am the King of +Waters. If thou wilt receive me as thy son-in-law +I will make the beautiful Deianira queen of my +river kingdom.'' + +``King Aeneus,'' said the mighty Hercules, +stepping forward, ``Deianira is mine, and I will +not yield her to this river-god.'' + +``Impertinent stranger!'' cried Achelous, +turning toward the hero, while his voice rose till it +sounded like the thunder of distant cataracts, and +his green garment changed to the blackness of +night,--``impertinent stranger! how darest thou +claim this maiden,--thou who hast mortal blood +in thy veins! Behold me, the god Achelous, the +powerful King of the Waters! I wind with majesty +through the rich lands of my wide realms. I +make all fields through which I flow beautiful with +grass and flowers. By my right divine I claim this +maiden.'' + +But with scowling eye and rising wrath +Hercules made answer. ``Thou wouldst fight with +words, like a woman, while I would win by my +strength! My right hand is better than my tongue. +If thou wouldst have the maiden, then must thou +first overcome me in combat.'' + +Thereupon Achelous threw off his raiment and +began to prepare himself for the struggle. Hercules +took off his garment of beasts' skins, and +cast aside his club. The two then anointed their +bodies with oil, and threw yellow sand upon +themselves. + +They took their places, they attacked, they +retired, they rushed again to the conflict. They +stood firm, and they yielded not. Long they +bravely wrestled and fought; till at length +Hercules by his might overcame Achelous and bore +him to the ground. He pressed him down, and, +while the fallen river-god lay panting for breath, +the hero seized him by the neck. + +Then did Achelous have recourse to his magic +arts. Transforming himself into a serpent he +escaped from the hero. He twisted his body into +winding folds, and darted out his forked tongue +with frightful hissings. + +But Hercules laughed mockingly, and cried out: +``Ah, Achelous! While yet in my cradle I strangled +two serpents! And what art thou compared +to the Hydra whose hundred heads I cut off? +Every time I cut of I one head two others grew in +its place. Yet did I conquer that horror, in spite +of its branching serpents that darted from every +wound! Thinkest thou, then, that I fear thee, +thou mimic snake?'' And even as he spake he +gripped, as with a pair of pincers, the back of the +river-god's head. + +And Achelous struggled in vain to escape. +Then, again having recourse to his magic, he +became a raging bull, and renewed the fight. But +Hercules, that mighty hero, threw his huge arms +over the brawny neck of the bull, and dragged +him about. Then seizing hold of his horns, he +bent his head to one side, and bearing down +fastened them into the ground. And that was not +enough, but with relentless hand he broke one of +the horns, and tore it from Achelous's forehead. + +The river-god returned to his own shape. He +roared aloud with rage and pain, and hiding his +mutilated head in his mantle, rushed from the +hall and plunged into the swirling waters of his +stream. + +Then the goddess of Plenty, and all the Wood- +Nymphs and Water-Nymphs came forward to +greet the conqueror with song and dance. They +took the huge horn of Achelous and heaped it high +with the rich and glowing fruits and flowers of +autumn. They wreathed it with vines and with +clustering grapes, and bearing it aloft presented it +to Hercules and his beautiful bride Deianira. + +And ever since that day has the Horn of Plenty +gladdened men's hearts at Harvest-Time. + + + +CHRISTMAS DAY + +(DECEMBER 25) + +LITTLE PICCOLA + +AFTER CELIA THAXTER + +In the sunny land of France there lived many +years ago a sweet little maid named Piccola. + +Her father had died when she was a baby, and +her mother was very poor and had to work hard +all day in the fields for a few sous. + +Little Piccola had no dolls and toys, and she +was often hungry and cold, but she was never sad +nor lonely. + +What if there were no children for her to play +with! What if she did not have fine clothes and +beautiful toys! In summer there were always the +birds in the forest, and the flowers in the fields and +meadows,--the birds sang so sweetly, and the +flowers were so bright and pretty! + +In the winter when the ground was covered +with snow, Piccola helped her mother, and knit +long stockings of blue wool. + +The snow-birds had to be fed with crumbs, if +she could find any, and then, there was Christmas +Day. + +But one year her mother was ill and could not +earn any money. Piccola worked hard all the day +long, and sold the stockings which she knit, even +when her own little bare feet were blue with the +cold. + +As Christmas Day drew near she said to her +mother, ``I wonder what the good Saint Nicholas +will bring me this year. I cannot hang my stocking +in the fireplace, but I shall put my wooden +shoe on the hearth for him. He will not forget +me, I am sure.'' + +``Do not think of it this year, my dear child,'' +replied her mother. ``We must be glad if we have +bread enough to eat.'' + +But Piccola could not believe that the good +saint would forget her. On Christmas Eve she +put her little wooden patten on the hearth before +the fire, and went to sleep to dream of Saint +Nicholas. + +As the poor mother looked at the little shoe, +she thought how unhappy her dear child would be +to find it empty in the morning, and wished that +she had something, even if it were only a tiny +cake, for a Christmas gift. There was nothing in +the house but a few sous, and these must be saved +to buy bread. + +When the morning dawned Piccola awoke and +ran to her shoe. + +Saint Nicholas had come in the night. He had +not forgotten the little child who had thought of +him with such faith. + +See what he had brought her. It lay in the +wooden patten, looking up at her with its two +bright eyes, and chirping contentedly as she +stroked its soft feathers. + +A little swallow, cold and hungry, had flown +into the chimney and down to the room, and +had crept into the shoe for warmth. + +Piccola danced for joy, and clasped the +shivering swallow to her breast. + +She ran to her mother's bedside. ``Look, +look!'' she cried. ``A Christmas gift, a gift from +the good Saint Nicholas!'' And she danced again +in her little bare feet. + +Then she fed and warmed the bird, and cared +for it tenderly all winter long; teaching it to take +crumbs from her hand and her lips, and to sit on +her shoulder while she was working. + +In the spring she opened the window for it to +fly away, but it lived in the woods near by all +summer, and came often in the early morning to +sing its sweetest songs at her door. + + +THE STRANGER CHILD + +A LEGEND + +BY COUNT FRANZ POCCI (TRANSLATED) + +There once lived a laborer who earned his daily +bread by cutting wood. His wife and two children, +a boy and girl, helped him with his work. +The boy's name was Valentine, and the girl's, +Marie. They were obedient and pious and the +joy and comfort of their poor parents. + +One winter evening, this good family gathered +about the table to eat their small loaf of bread, +while the father read aloud from the Bible. Just +as they sat down there came a knock on the window, +and a sweet voice called:-- + +``O let me in! I am a little child, and I have +nothing to eat, and no place to sleep in. I am so +cold and hungry! Please, good people, let me in!'' + +Valentine and Marie sprang from the table and +ran to open the door, saying:-- + +``Come in, poor child, we have but very little +ourselves, not much more than thou hast, but +what we have we will share with thee.'' + +The stranger Child entered, and going to the +fire began to warm his cold hands. + +The children gave him a portion of their bread, +and said:-- + +``Thou must be very tired; come, lie down in +our bed, and we will sleep on the bench here before +the fire.'' + +Then answered the stranger Child: ``May God +in Heaven reward you for your kindness.'' + +They led the little guest to their small room, +laid him in their bed, and covered him closely, +thinking to themselves:-- + +``Oh! how much we have to be thankful for! +We have our nice warm room and comfortable +bed, while this Child has nothing but the sky for a +roof, and the earth for a couch.'' + +When the parents went to their bed, Valentine +and Marie lay down on the bench before the fire, +and said one to the other:-- + +``The stranger Child is happy now, because he +is so warm! Good-night!'' + +Then they fell asleep. + +They had not slept many hours, when little +Marie awoke, and touching her brother lightly, +whispered:-- + +``Valentine, Valentine, wake up! wake up! +Listen to the beautiful music at the window.'' + +Valentine rubbed his eyes and listened. He +heard the most wonderful singing and the sweet +notes of many harps. + + ``Blessed Child, + Thee we greet, + With sound of harp + And singing sweet. + + ``Sleep in peace, + Child so bright, + We have watched thee + All the night. + + ``Blest the home + That holdeth Thee, + Peace, and love, + Its guardians be.'' + + +The children listened to the beautiful singing, +and it seemed to fill them with unspeakable happiness. +Then creeping to the window they looked +out. + +They saw a rosy light in the east, and, before +the house in the snow, stood a number of little +children holding golden harps and lutes in their +hands, and dressed in sparkling, silver robes. + +Full of wonder at this sight, Valentine and +Marie continued to gaze out at the window, when +they heard a sound behind them, and turning saw +the stranger Child standing near. He was clad in +a golden garment, and wore a glistening, golden +crown upon his soft hair. Sweetly he spoke to the +children:-- + +``I am the Christ Child, who wanders about the +world seeking to bring joy and good things to loving +children. Because you have lodged me this +night I will leave with you my blessing.'' + +As the Christ Child spoke He stepped from the +door, and breaking off a bough from a fir tree that +grew near, planted it in the ground, saying:-- + +``This bough shall grow into a tree, and every +year it shall bear Christmas fruit for you.'' + +Having said this He vanished from their sight, +together with the silver-clad, singing children-- +the angels. + +And, as Valentine and Marie looked on in wonder, +the fir bough grew, and grew, and grew, +into a stately Christmas Tree laden with golden +apples, silver nuts, and lovely toys. And after +that, every year at Christmas time, the Tree bore +the same wonderful fruit. + +And you, dear boys and girls, when you gather +around your richly decorated trees, think of the +two poor children who shared their bread with a +stranger child, and be thankful. + + +SAINT CHRISTOPHER + +A GOLDEN LEGEND + +ENGLISHED BY WILLIAM CAXTON (ADAPTED) + +Christopher was a Canaanite, and he was of a +right great stature, twelve cubits in height, and +had a terrible countenance. And it is said that as +he served and dwelled with the King of Canaan, +it came in his mind that he would seek the +greatest prince that was in the world, and him would +he serve and obey. + +So he went forth and came to a right great +king, whom fame said was the greatest of the +world. And when the king saw him he received +him into his service, and made him to dwell in +his court. + +Upon a time a minstrel sang before him a song +in which he named oft the devil. And the king, +who was a Christian, when he heard him name +the devil, made anon the sign of the cross. + +And when Christopher saw that he marveled, +and asked what the sign might mean. And because +the king would not say, he said: ``If thou +tell me not, I shall no longer dwell with thee.'' + +And then the King told him, saying: ``Alway +when I hear the devil named make I this sign lest +he grieve or annoy me.'' + +Then said Christopher to him: ``Fearest thou +the devil? Then is the devil more mighty and +greater than thou art. I am then deceived, for I +had supposed that I had found the most mighty +and the most greatest lord in all the world! +Fare thee well, for I will now go seek the devil +to be my lord and I his servant.'' + +So Christopher departed from this king and +hastened to seek the devil. And as he went by a +great desert he saw a company of knights, and one +of them, a knight cruel and horrible, came to him +and demanded whither he went. + +And Christopher answered: ``I go to seek the +devil for to be my master.'' + +Then said the knight: ``I am he that thou +seekest.'' + +And then Christopher was glad and bound himself +to be the devil's servant, and took him for his +master and lord. + +Now, as they went along the way they found +there a cross, erect and standing. And anon as the +devil saw the cross he was afeared and fled. And +when Christopher saw that he marveled and +demanded why he was afeared, and why he fled +away. And the devil would not tell him in no +wise. + +Then Christopher said to him: ``If thou wilt not +tell me, I shall anon depart from thee and shall +serve thee no more.'' + +Wherefore the devil was forced to tell him and +said: ``There was a man called Christ, which was +hanged on the cross, and when I see his sign I am +sore afraid and flee from it.'' + +To whom Christopher said: ``Then he is greater +and more mightier than thou, since thou art +afraid of his sign,and I see well that I have labored +in vain, and have not founden the greatest lord of +the world. I will serve thee no longer, but I will +go seek Christ.'' + +And when Christopher had long sought where +he should find Christ, at last he came into a great +desert, to a hermit that dwelt there. And he +inquired of him where Christ was to be found. + +Then answered the hermit: ``The king whom +thou desirest to serve, requireth that thou must +often fast.'' + +Christopher said: ``Require of me some other +thing and I shall do it, but fast I may not.'' + +And the hermit said: ``Thou must then wake +and make many prayers.'' + +And Christopher said: ``I do not know how to +pray, so this I may not do.'' + +And the hermit said: ``Seest thou yonder deep +and wide river, in which many people have +perished? Because thou art noble, and of high +stature and strong of limb, so shalt thou live by +the river and thou shalt bear over all people who +pass that way. And this thing will be pleasing +to our Lord Jesu Christ, whom thou desirest to +serve, and I hope he shall show himself to thee.'' + +Then said Christopher: ``Certes, this service +may I well do, and I promise Him to do it.'' + +Then went Christopher to this river, and built +himself there a hut. He carried a great pole in his +hand, to support himself in the water, and bore +over on his shoulders all manner of people to the +other side. And there he abode, thus doing many +days. + +And on a time, as he slept in his hut, he heard +the voice of a child which called him:-- + +``Christopher, Christopher, come out and bear +me over.'' + +Then he awoke and went out, but he found no +man. And when he was again in his house he +heard the same voice, crying:-- + +``Christopher, Christopher, come out and bear +me over.'' + +And he ran out and found nobody. + +And the third time he was called and ran +thither, and he found a Child by the brink of the +river, which prayed him goodly to bear him over +the water. + +And then Christopher lifted up the Child on his +shoulders, and took his staff, and entered into the +river for to pass over. And the water of the river +arose and swelled more and more; and the Child +was heavy as lead, and always as Christopher +went farther the water increased and grew more, +and the Child more and more waxed heavy, insomuch +that Christopher suffered great anguish and +was afeared to be drowned. + +And when he was escaped with great pain, and +passed over the water, and set the Child aground, +he said:-- + +``Child, thou hast put me in great peril. Thou +weighest almost as I had all the world upon me. +I might bear no greater burden.'' + +And the Child answered: ``Christopher, marvel +thee nothing, for thou hast not only borne all the +world upon thee, but thou hast borne Him that +created and made all the world, upon thy +shoulders. I am Jesu Christ the King whom thou +servest. And that thou mayest know that I say +the truth, set thy staff in the earth by thy house, +and thou shalt see to-morn that it shall bear +flowers and fruit.'' + +And anon the Child vanished from his eyes. + +And then Christopher set his staff in the earth, +and when he arose on the morn, he found his staff +bearing flowers, leaves, and dates. + + +THE CHRISTMAS ROSE + +AN OLD LEGEND + +BY LIZZIE DEAS (ADAPTED) + +When the Magi laid their rich offerings of myrrh, +frankincense, and gold, by the bed of the sleeping +Christ Child, legend says that a shepherd maiden +stood outside the door quietly weeping. + +She, too, had sought the Christ Child. She, too, +desired to bring him gifts. But she had nothing to +offer, for she was very poor indeed. In vain she +had searched the countryside over for one little +flower to bring Him, but she could find neither +bloom nor leaf, for the winter had been cold. + +And as she stood there weeping, an angel +passing saw her sorrow, and stooping he brushed +aside the snow at her feet. And there sprang up +on the spot a cluster of beautiful winter roses,-- +waxen white with pink tipped petals. + +``Nor myrrh, nor frankincense, nor gold,'' said +the angel, ``is offering more meet for the Christ +Child than these pure Christmas Roses.'' + +Joyfully the shepherd maiden gathered the +flowers and made her offering to the Holy Child. + + +THE WOODEN SHOES OF LITTLE WOLFF + +BY FRANCOIS COPPEE (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time,--so long ago that the world +has forgotten the date,--in a city of the North of +Europe,--the name of which is so hard to +pronounce that no one remembers it,--there was a +little boy, just seven years old, whose name was +Wolff. He was an orphan and lived with his aunt, +a hard-hearted, avaricious old woman, who never +kissed him but once a year, on New Year's Day; +and who sighed with regret every time she gave +him a bowlful of soup. + +The poor little boy was so sweet-tempered that +he loved the old woman in spite of her bad treatment, +but he could not look without trembling at +the wart, decorated with four gray hairs, which +grew on the end of her nose. + +As Wolff's aunt was known to have a house of +her own and a woolen stocking full of gold, she did +not dare to send her nephew to the school for the +poor. But she wrangled so that the schoolmaster +of the rich boys' school was forced to lower his +price and admit little Wolff among his pupils. +The bad schoolmaster was vexed to have a boy +so meanly clad and who paid so little, and he +punished little Wolff severely without cause, +ridiculed him, and even incited against him his +comrades, who were the sons of rich citizens. +They made the orphan their drudge and mocked +at him so much that the little boy was as miserable +as the stones in the street, and hid himself +away in corners to cry--when the Christmas +season came. + +On the Eve of the great Day the schoolmaster +was to take all his pupils to the midnight mass, +and then to conduct them home again to their +parents' houses. + +Now as the winter was very severe, and a +quantity of snow had fallen within the past few +days, the boys came to the place of meeting +warmly wrapped up, with fur-lined caps drawn +down over their ears, padded jackets, gloves and +knitted mittens, and good strong shoes with +thick soles. Only little Wolff presented himself +shivering in his thin everyday clothes, and wearing +on his feet socks and wooden shoes. + +His naughty comrades tried to annoy him in +every possible way, but the orphan was so busy +warming his hands by blowing on them, and was +suffering so much from chilblains, that he paid no +heed to the taunts of the others. Then the band +of boys, marching two by two, started for the +parish church. + +It was comfortable inside the church, which +was brilliant with lighted tapers. And the pupils, +made lively by the gentle warmth, the sound of +the organ, and the singing of the choir, began to +chatter in low tones. They boasted of the midnight +treats awaiting them at home. The son of +the Mayor had seen, before leaving the house, a +monstrous goose larded with truffles so that it +looked like a black-spotted leopard. Another boy +told of the fir tree waiting for him, on the branches +of which hung oranges, sugar-plums, and punchinellos. +Then they talked about what the Christ +Child would bring them, or what he would leave +in their shoes which they would certainly be careful +to place before the fire when they went to bed. +And the eyes of the little rogues, lively as a crowd +of mice, sparkled with delight as they thought of +the many gifts they would find on waking,--the +pink bags of burnt almonds, the bonbons, lead +soldiers standing in rows, menageries, and magnificent +jumping-jacks, dressed in purple and gold. + +Little Wolff, alas! knew well that his miserly +old aunt would send him to bed without any supper; +but as he had been good and industrious all +the year, he trusted that the Christ Child would +not forget him, so he meant that night to set his +wooden shoes on the hearth. + +The midnight mass was ended. The worshipers +hurried away, anxious to enjoy the treats awaiting +them in their homes. The band of pupils, two by +two, following the schoolmaster, passed out of the +church. + +Now, under the porch, seated on a stone bench, +in the shadow of an arched niche, was a child +asleep,--a little child dressed in a white garment +and with bare feet exposed to the cold. He was +not a beggar, for his dress was clean and new, and +--beside him upon the ground, tied in a cloth, were +the tools of a carpenter's apprentice. + +Under the light of the stars, his face, with its +closed eyes, shone with an expression of divine +sweetness, and his soft, curling blond hair seemed +to form an aureole of light about his forehead. +But his tender feet, blue with the cold on this +cruel night of December, were pitiful to see! + +The pupils so warmly clad and shod, passed +with indifference before the unknown child. +Some, the sons of the greatest men in the city, +cast looks of scorn on the barefooted one. But +little Wolff, coming last out of the church, stopped +deeply moved before the beautiful, sleeping child. + +``Alas!'' said the orphan to himself, ``how +dreadful! This poor little one goes without stockings +in weather so cold! And, what is worse, he +has no shoe to leave beside him while he sleeps, so +that the Christ Child may place something in it to +comfort him in all his misery.'' + +And carried away by his tender heart, little +Wolff drew off the wooden shoe from his right +foot, placed it before the sleeping child; and as +best as he was able, now hopping, now limping, +and wetting his sock in the snow, he returned to +his aunt. + +``You good-for-nothing!'' cried the old woman, +full of rage as she saw that one of his shoes was +gone. ``What have you done with your shoe, little +beggar?'' + +Little Wolff did not know how to lie, and, +though shivering with terror as he saw the gray +hairs on the end of her nose stand upright, he +tried, stammering, to tell his adventure. + +But the old miser burst into frightful laughter. +``Ah! the sweet young master takes off his shoe +for a beggar! Ah! master spoils a pair of shoes for +a barefoot! This is something new, indeed! Ah! +well, since things are so, I will place the shoe that +is left in the fireplace, and to-night the Christ +Child will put in a rod to whip you when you +wake. And to-morrow you shall have nothing to +eat but water and dry bread, and we shall see if +the next time you will give away your shoe to the +first vagabond that comes along.'' + +And saying this the wicked woman gave him +a box on each ear, and made him climb to his +wretched room in the loft. There the heartbroken +little one lay down in the darkness, and, +drenching his pillow with tears, fell asleep. + +But in the morning, when the old woman, +awakened by the cold and shaken by her cough, +descended to the kitchen, oh! wonder of wonders! +she saw the great fireplace filled with bright toys, +magnificent boxes of sugar-plums, riches of all +sorts, and in front of all this treasure, the wooden +shoe which her nephew had given to the vagabond, +standing beside the other shoe which she +herself had placed there the night before, intending +to put in it a handful of switches. + +And as little Wolff, who had come running at +the cries of his aunt, stood in speechless delight +before all the splendid Christmas gifts, there +came great shouts of laughter from the street. + +The old woman and the little boy went out to +learn what it was all about, and saw the gossips +gathered around the public fountain. What could +have happened? Oh, a most amusing and extraordinary +thing! The children of all the rich men of +the city, whose parents wished to surprise them +with the most beautiful gifts, had found nothing +but switches in their shoes! + +Then the old woman and little Wolff remembered +with alarm all the riches that were in their +own fireplace, but just then they saw the pastor +of the parish church arriving with his face full of +perplexity. + +Above the bench near the church door, in the +very spot where the night before a child, dressed +in white, with bare feet exposed to the great cold, +had rested his sleeping head, the pastor had seen a +golden circle wrought into the old stones. Then +all the people knew that the beautiful, sleeping +child, beside whom had lain the carpenter's tools, +was the Christ Child himself, and that he had +rewarded the faith and charity of little Wolff. + + +THE PINE TREE + +BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (TRANSLATED) + +I + +WHEN IT WAS LITTLE + +Out in the woods stood such a nice little Pine +Tree: he had a good place; the sun could get at +him; there was fresh air enough; and round him +grew many big comrades, both pines and firs. +But the little Pine wanted so very much to be a +grown-up tree. + +He did not think of the warm sun and of the fresh +air, he did not care for the little cottage-children +who ran about and prattled when they were looking +for wild strawberries and raspberries. Often +they came with a whole jug full, or had their +strawberries strung on a straw, and sat down near the +little Tree and said, ``Oh, what a nice little fellow!'' +This was what the Tree could not bear to hear. + +The year after he had shot up a good deal, and +the next year after he was still bigger; for with +pine trees one can always tell by the shoots how +many years old they are. + +``Oh, were I but such a big tree as the others +are,'' sighed the little Tree. ``Then I could +spread my branches so far, and with the tops look +out into the wide world! Birds would build nests +among my branches; and when there was a +breeze, I could nod as grandly as the others +there.'' + +He had no delight at all in the sunshine, or in +the birds, or the red clouds which morning and +evening sailed above him. + +When now it was winter and the snow all +around lay glittering white, a hare would often +come leaping along, and jump right over the little +Tree. Oh, that made him so angry! But two +winters went by, and with the third the Tree was +so big that the hare had to go round it. ``Oh, +to grow, to grow, to become big and old, and be +tall,'' thought the Tree: ``that, after all, is the +most delightful thing in the world!'' + +In autumn the wood-cutters always came and +felled some of the largest trees. This happened +every year, and the young Pine Tree, that was +now quite well grown, trembled at the sight; for +the great stately trees fell to the earth with noise +and cracking, the branches were lopped off, and +the trees looked quite bare, they were so long and +thin; you would hardly know them for trees, and +then they were laid on carts, and horses dragged +them out of the wood. + +Where did they go to? What became of them? + +In spring, when the Swallow and the Stork +came, the Tree asked them, ``Don't you know +where they have been taken? Have you not met +them anywhere?'' + +The Swallow did not know anything about it; +but the Stork looked doubtful, nodded his head, +and said, ``Yes; I have it; I met many new ships +as I was flying from Egypt; on the ships were +splendid masts, and I dare say it was they that +smelt so of pine. I wish you joy, for they lifted +themselves on high in fine style!'' + +``Oh, were I but old enough to fly across the sea! +How does the sea really look? and what is it like?'' + +``Aye, that takes a long time to tell,'' said the +Stork, and away he went. + +``Rejoice in thy youth!'' said the Sunbeams, +``rejoice in thy hearty growth, and in the young +life that is in thee!'' + +And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew +wept tears over him, but the Pine Tree understood it not. + + +II + +CHRISTMAS IN THE WOODS + + +When Christmas came, quite young trees were +cut down; trees which were not even so large or of +the same age as this Pine Tree, who had no rest or +peace, but always wanted to be off. These young +trees, and they were always the finest looking, +always kept their branches; they were laid on +carts, and the horses drew them out of the wood. + +``Where are they going to?'' asked the Pine +Tree. ``They are not taller than I; there was one, +indeed, that was much shorter;--and why do +they keep all their branches? Where are they +carrying them to?'' + +``We know! we know!'' chirped the Sparrows. +``We have peeped in at the windows down there in +the town. We know where they are carrying them +to. Oh, they are going to where it is as bright and +splendid as you can think! We peeped through +the windows, and saw them planted in the middle +of the warm room, and dressed with the most +splendid things,--with gilded apples, with +gingerbread, with toys and many hundred lights!'' + +``And then?'' asked the Pine Tree, and he +trembled in every bough. ``And then? What +happens then?'' + +``We did not see anything more: it beat everything!'' + +``I wonder if I am to sparkle like that!'' cried +the Tree, rejoicing. ``That is still better than to +go over the sea! How I do suffer for very longing! +Were Christmas but come! I am now tall, and +stretch out like the others that were carried off +last year! Oh, if I were already on the cart! I +wish I were in the warm room with all the splendor +and brightness. And then? Yes; then will come +something better, something still grander, or why +should they dress me out so? There must come +something better, something still grander,--but +what? Oh, how I long, how I suffer! I do not +know myself what is the matter with me!'' + +``Rejoice in us!'' said the Air and the Sunlight; +``rejoice in thy fresh youth out here in the open +air!'' + +But the Tree did not rejoice at all; he grew and +grew; and he stood there in all his greenery; rich +green was he winter and summer. People that +saw him said, ``That's a fine tree!'' and toward +Christmas he was the first that was cut down. +The axe struck deep into the very pith; the Tree +fell to the earth with a sigh: he felt a pang--it +was like a swoon; he could not think of happiness, +for he was sad at being parted from his home, +from the place where he had sprung up. He well +knew that he should never see his dear old comrades, +the little bushes and flowers around him, +any more; perhaps not even the birds! The setting +off was not at all pleasant. + +The Tree only came to himself when he was +unloaded in a courtyard with other trees, and +heard a man say, ``That one is splendid! we don't +want the others.'' Then two servants came in +rich livery and carried the Pine Tree into a large +and splendid room. Portraits were hanging on +the walls, and near the white porcelain stove +stood two large Chinese vases with lions on the +covers. There, too, were large easy-chairs, silken +sofas, large tables full of picture-books, and full of +toys worth a hundred times a hundred dollars-- +at least so the children said. And the Pine Tree +was stuck upright in a cask filled with sand: but +no one could see that it was a cask, for green cloth +was hung all around it, and it stood on a gayly +colored carpet. Oh, how the Tree quivered! +What was to happen? The servants, as well as the +young ladies, dressed it. On one branch there +hung little nets cut out of colored paper; each net +was filled with sugar-plums; gilded apples and +walnuts hung as though they grew tightly there, +and more than a hundred little red, blue, and white +tapers were stuck fast into the branches. Dolls +that looked for all the world like men--the Tree +had never seen such things before--fluttered +among the leaves, and at the very top a large star +of gold tinsel was fixed. It was really splendid-- +splendid beyond telling. + +``This evening!'' said they all; ``how it will +shine this evening!'' + +``Oh,'' thought the Tree, ``if it were only +evening! If the tapers were but lighted! And then I +wonder what will happen! I wonder if the other +trees from the forest will come to look at me! +I wonder if the sparrows will beat against the +window-panes! I wonder if I shall take root here, +and stand dressed so winter and summer!'' + +Aye, aye, much he knew about the matter! but +he had a real back-ache for sheer longing, and a +back-ache with trees is the same thing as a head- +ache with us. + + +III + +CHRISTMAS IN THE HOUSE + + +The candles were now lighted. What brightness! +What splendor! The Tree trembled so in +every bough that one of the tapers set fire to a +green branch. It blazed up splendidly. + +Now the Tree did not even dare to tremble. +That was a fright! He was so afraid of losing +something of all his finery, that he was quite +confused amidst the glare and brightness; and now +both folding-doors opened, and a troop of children +rushed in as if they would tip the whole Tree over. +The older folks came quietly behind; the little +ones stood quite still, but only for a moment, then +they shouted so that the whole place echoed their +shouts, they danced round the Tree, and one +present after another was pulled off. + +``What are they about?'' thought the Tree. +``What is to happen now?'' And the lights burned +down to the very branches, and as they burned +down they were put out one after the other, and +then the children had leave to plunder the Tree. +Oh, they rushed upon it so that it cracked in all its +limbs; if its tip-top with the gold star on it had +not been fastened to the ceiling, it would have +tumbled over. + +The children danced about with their pretty +toys; no one looked at the Tree except the old +nurse, who peeped in among the branches; but it +was only to see if there was a fig or an apple that +had been forgotten. + +``A story! a story!'' cried the children, and they +dragged a little fat man toward the Tree. He sat +down under it, and said, ``Now we are in the +shade, and the Tree can hear very well too. But I +shall tell only one story. Now which will you +have: that about Ivedy-Avedy, or about Klumpy- +Dumpy who tumbled downstairs, and came to the +throne after all, and married the princess?'' + +``Ivedy-Avedy,'' cried some; ``Klumpy- +Dumpy,'' cried the others. There was such a +bawling and screaming!--the Pine Tree alone +was silent, and he thought to himself, ``Am I not +to bawl with the rest?--am I to do nothing +whatever?''--for he was one of them, and he had done +what he had to do. + +And the man told about Klumpy-Dumpy who +tumbled downstairs, and came to the throne after +all, and married the princess. And the children +clapped their hands, and cried out, ``Go on, go +on!'' They wanted to hear about Ivedy-Avedy +too, but the little man only told them about +Klumpy-Dumpy. The Pine Tree stood quite still +and thoughtful: the birds in the wood had never +told anything like this. ``Klumpy-Dumpy fell +downstairs, and yet he married the princess! Yes, +yes, that's the way of the world!'' thought the +Pine Tree, and he believed it all, because it was +such a nice man who told the story. + +``Well, well! who knows, perhaps I may fall +downstairs, too, and so get a princess!'' And he +looked forward with joy to the next day when he +should be decked out with lights and toys, fruits +and tinsel. + +``To-morrow I won't tremble!'' thought the +Pine Tree. ``I will enjoy to the full all my +splendor! To-morrow I shall hear again the story of +Klumpy-Dumpy, and perhaps that of Ivedy- +Avedy too.'' And the whole night the Tree stood +still in deep thought. + +In the morning the servant and the maid came in. + + +IV + +IN THE ATTIC + + +``Now all the finery will begin again,'' thought +the Pine. But they dragged him out of the room, +and up the stairs into the attic; and here in a dark +corner, where no daylight could enter, they left +him. ``What's the meaning of this?'' thought the +Tree. ``What am I to do here? What shall I see +and hear now, I wonder?'' And he leaned against +the wall and stood and thought and thought. +And plenty of time he had, for days and nights +passed, and nobody came up; and when at last +somebody did come, it was only to put some great +trunks in the corner. There stood the Tree quite +hidden; it seemed as if he had been entirely forgotten. + +``'T is now winter out-of-doors!'' thought the +Tree. ``The earth is hard and covered with snow; +men cannot plant me now; therefore I have been +put up here under cover till spring! How thoughtful +that is! How good men are, after all! If it +were not so dark here, and so terribly lonely! Not +even a hare. Out there it was so pleasant in the +woods, when the snow was on the ground, and the +hare leaped by; yes--even when he jumped over +me; but I did not like it then. It is terribly lonely +here!'' + +``Squeak! squeak!'' said a little Mouse at the +same moment, peeping out of his hole. And then +another little one came. They snuffed about the +Pine Tree, and rustled among the branches. + +``It is dreadfully cold,'' said the little Mouse. +``But for that, it would be delightful here, old +Pine, wouldn't it!'' + +``I am by no means old,'' said the Pine Tree. +``There are many a good deal older than I am.'' + +``Where do you come from?'' asked the Mice; +``and what can you do?'' They were so very +curious. ``Tell us about the most beautiful spot +on earth. Have you been there? Were you ever in +the larder, where cheeses lie on the shelves, and +hams hang from above; where one dances about +on tallow candles; where one goes in lean and +comes out fat?'' + +``I don't know that place,'' said the Tree. +``But I know the wood where the sun shines, and +where the little birds sing.'' + +And then he told his story from his youth up; +and the little Mice had never heard the like +before; and they listened and said, +``Well, to be sure! How much you have seen! +How happy you must have been!'' + +``I!'' said the Pine Tree, and he thought over +what he had himself told. ``Yes, really those +were happy times.'' And then he told about +Christmas Eve, when he was decked out with +cakes and candles. + +``Oh,'' said the little Mice, ``how lucky you have +been, old Pine Tree!'' + +``I am not at all old,'' said he. ``I came from +the wood this winter; I am in my prime, and am +only rather short of my age.'' + +``What delightful stories you know!'' said the +Mice: and the next night they came with four +other little Mice, who were to hear what the Tree +had to tell; and the more he told, the more plainly +he remembered all himself; and he thought: +``That was a merry time! But it can come! it can +come! Klumpy-Dumpy fell down stairs, and yet +he got a princess! Maybe I can get a princess +too!'' And all of a sudden he thought of a nice +little Birch Tree growing out in the woods: to the +Pine, that would be a really charming princess. + +``Who is Klumpy-Dumpy?'' asked the little +Mice. + +So then the Pine Tree told the whole fairy tale, +for he could remember every single word of it; and +the little Mice jumped for joy up to the very top +of the Tree. Next night two more Mice came, +and on Sunday two Rats, even; but they said the +stories were not amusing, which vexed the little +Mice, because they, too, now began to think +them not so very amusing either. + +``Do you know only that one story?'' asked the +Rats. + +``Only that one!'' answered the Tree. ``I heard +it on my happiest evening; but I did not then +know how happy I was.'' + +``It is a very stupid story! Don't you know one +about bacon and tallow candles? Can't you tell +any larder-stories?'' + +``No,'' said the Tree. + +``Thank you, then,'' said the Rats; and they +went home. + +At last the little Mice stayed away also; and +the Tree sighed: ``After all, it was very pleasant +when the sleek little Mice sat round me and heard +what I told them. Now that too is over. But I +will take good care to enjoy myself when I am +brought out again.'' + +But when was that to be? Why, it was one +morning when there came a number of people and +set to work in the loft. The trunks were moved, +the tree was pulled out and thrown down; they +knocked him upon the floor, but a man drew him +at once toward the stairs, where the daylight shone. + + +V + +OUT OF DOORS AGAIN + + +``Now life begins again,'' thought the Tree. He +felt the fresh air, the first sunbeam,--and now +he was out in the courtyard. All passed so quickly +that the Tree quite forgot to look to himself, there +was so much going on around him. The court +adjoined a garden, and all was in flower; the roses +hung over the fence, so fresh and smelling so +sweetly; the lindens were in blossom, the Swallows +flew by, and said, ``Quirre-virre-vit! my husband +is come!'' But it was not the Pine Tree that they +meant. + +``Now, I shall really live,'' said he with joy, and +spread out his branches; dear! dear! they were all +dry and yellow. It was in a corner among weeds +and nettles that he lay. The golden star of tinsel +was still on top of the Tree, and shone in the +bright sunshine. + +In the courtyard a few of the merry children +were playing who had danced at Christmas +round the Tree, and were so glad at the sight of +him. One of the littlest ran and tore off the golden +star. + +``See what is still on the ugly old Christmas +Tree!'' said he, and he trampled on the branches, +so that they cracked under his feet. + +And the Tree saw all the beauty of the flowers, +and the freshness in the garden; he saw himself, +and he wished he had stayed in his dark corner in +the attic: he thought of his fresh youth in the +wood, of the merry Christmas Eve, and of the +little Mice who had heard so gladly the story of +Klumpy-Dumpy. + +``Gone! gone!'' said the poor Tree. ``Had I but +been happy when I could be. Gone! gone!'' + +And the gardener's boy came and chopped the +Tree into small pieces; there was a whole heap +lying there. The wood flamed up finely under +the large brewing kettle, and it sighed so deeply! +Each sigh was like a little shot. So the children +ran to where it lay and sat down before the fire, +and peeped in at the blaze, and shouted ``Piff! +paff!'' But at every snap there was a deep sigh. +The Tree was thinking of summer days in the +wood, and of winter nights when the stars shone; +it was thinking of Christmas Eve and Klumpy- +Dumpy, the only fairy tale it had heard and knew +how to tell,--and so the Tree burned out. + +The boys played about in the court, and the +youngest wore the gold star on his breast which +the Tree had worn on the happiest evening of his +life. Now, that was gone, the Tree was gone, and +gone too was the story. All, all was gone, and +that's the way with all stories. + + +THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO + +BY FRANCES BROWNE (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time there stood in the midst of a +bleak moor, in the North Country, a certain village. +All its inhabitants were poor, for their fields +were barren, and they had little trade; but the +poorest of them all were two brothers called Scrub +and Spare, who followed the cobbler's craft. +Their hut was built of clay and wattles. The door +was low and always open, for there was no +window. The roof did not entirely keep out the rain +and the only thing comfortable was a wide fireplace, +for which the brothers could never find +wood enough to make sufficient fire. There they +worked in most brotherly friendship, though with +little encouragement. + +On one unlucky day a new cobbler arrived in +the village. He had lived in the capital city of the +kingdom and, by his own account, cobbled for the +queen and the princesses. His awls were sharp, +his lasts were new; he set up his stall in a neat +cottage with two windows. The villagers soon +found out that one patch of his would outwear +two of the brothers'. In short, all the mending +left Scrub and Spare, and went to the new cobbler. + +The season had been wet and cold, their barley +did not ripen well, and the cabbages never half- +closed in the garden. So the brothers were poor +that winter, and when Christmas came they had +nothing to feast on but a barley loaf and a piece of +rusty bacon. Worse than that, the snow was very +deep and they could get no firewood. + +Their hut stood at the end of the village; +beyond it spread the bleak moor, now all white and +silent. But that moor had once been a forest; +great roots of old trees were still to be found in it, +loosened from the soil and laid bare by the winds +and rains. One of these, a rough, gnarled log, lay +hard by their door, the half of it above the snow, +and Spare said to his brother:-- + +``Shall we sit here cold on Christmas while the +great root lies yonder? Let us chop it up for +firewood, the work will make us warm.'' + +``No,'' said Scrub, ``it's not right to chop wood +on Christmas; besides, that root is too hard to be +broken with any hatchet.'' + +``Hard or not, we must have a fire,'' replied +Spare. ``Come, brother, help me in with it. Poor +as we are there is nobody in the village will have +such a yule log as ours.'' + +Scrub liked a little grandeur, and, in hopes of +having a fine yule log, both brothers strained and +strove with all their might till, between pulling +and pushing, the great old root was safe on the +hearth, and beginning to crackle and blaze with +the red embers. + +In high glee the cobblers sat down to their +bread and bacon. The door was shut, for there +was nothing but cold moonlight and snow outside; +but the hut, strewn with fir boughs and ornamented +with holly, looked cheerful as the ruddy +blaze flared up and rejoiced their hearts. + +Then suddenly from out the blazing root they +heard: ``Cuckoo! cuckoo!'' as plain as ever the +spring-bird's voice came over the moor on a May +morning. + +``What is that?'' said Scrub, terribly +frightened; ``it is something bad!'' + +``Maybe not,'' said Spare. + +And out of the deep hole at the side of the root, +which the fire had not reached, flew a large, gray +cuckoo, and lit on the table before them. Much +as the cobblers had been surprised, they were still +more so when it said:-- + +``Good gentlemen, what season is this?'' + +``It's Christmas,'' said Spare. + +``Then a merry Christmas to you!'' said the +cuckoo. ``I went to sleep in the hollow of that old +root one evening last summer, and never woke till +the heat of your fire made me think it was summer +again. But now since you have burned my +lodging, let me stay in your hut till the spring +comes round,--I only want a hole to sleep in, +and when I go on my travels next summer be +assured I will bring you some present for your +trouble.'' + +``Stay and welcome,'' said Spare, while Scrub +sat wondering if it were something bad or not. + +``I'll make you a good warm hole in the +thatch,'' said Spare. ``But you must be hungry +after that long sleep,--here is a slice of barley +bread. Come help us to keep Christmas!'' + +The cuckoo ate up the slice, drank water from a +brown jug, and flew into a snug hole which Spare +scooped for it in the thatch of the hut. + +Scrub said he was afraid it wouldn't be lucky; +but as it slept on and the days passed he forgot +his fears. + +So the snow melted, the heavy rains came, +the cold grew less, the days lengthened, and one +sunny morning the brothers were awakened by +the cuckoo shouting its own cry to let them know +the spring had come. + +``Now I'm going on my travels,'' said the +bird, ``over the world to tell men of the spring. +There is no country where trees bud, or flowers +bloom, that I will not cry in before the year goes +round. Give me another slice of barley bread to +help me on my journey, and tell me what present +I shall bring you at the twelvemonth's end.'' + +Scrub would have been angry with his brother +for cutting so large a slice, their store of barley +being low, but his mind was occupied with what +present it would be most prudent to ask for. + +``There are two trees hard by the well that lies +at the world's end,'' said the cuckoo; ``one of +them is called the golden tree, for its leaves are all +of beaten gold. Every winter they fall into the +well with a sound like scattered coin, and I know +not what becomes of them. As for the other, it is +always green like a laurel. Some call it the wise, +and some the merry, tree. Its leaves never fall, +but they that get one of them keep a blithe heart +in spite of all misfortunes, and can make themselves +as merry in a hut as in a palace.'' + +``Good master cuckoo, bring me a leaf off that +tree!'' cried Spare. + +``Now, brother, don't be a fool!'' said Scrub; +``think of the leaves of beaten gold! Dear master +cuckoo, bring me one of them!'' + +Before another word could be spoken the +cuckoo had flown out of the open door, and was +shouting its spring cry over moor and meadow. + +The brothers were poorer than ever that year. +Nobody would send them a single shoe to mend, +and Scrub and Spare would have left the village +but for their barley-field and their cabbage- +garden. They sowed their barley, planted their +cabbage, and, now that their trade was gone, +worked in the rich villagers' fields to make out a +scanty living. + +So the seasons came and passed; spring, +summer, harvest, and winter followed each other as +they have done from the beginning. At the end of +the latter Scrub and Spare had grown so poor and +ragged that their old neighbors forgot to invite +them to wedding feasts or merrymakings, and the +brothers thought the cuckoo had forgotten them, +too, when at daybreak on the first of April they +heard a hard beak knocking at their door, and a +voice crying:-- + +``Cuckoo! cuckoo! Let me in with my presents!'' + +Spare ran to open the door, and in came the +cuckoo, carrying on one side of its bill a golden +leaf larger than that of any tree in the North +Country; and in the other side of its bill, one like +that of the common laurel, only it had a fresher +green. + +``Here,'' it said, giving the gold to Scrub and +the green to Spare, ``it is a long carriage from the +world's end. Give me a slice of barley bread, for I +must tell the North Country that the spring has +come.'' + +Scrub did not grudge the thickness of that slice, +though it was cut from their last loaf. So much +gold had never been in the cobbler's hands before, +and he could not help exulting over his brother. + +``See the wisdom of my choice,'' he said, +holding up the large leaf of gold. ``As for yours, as +good might be plucked from any hedge, I wonder +a sensible bird would carry the like so far.'' + +``Good master cobbler,'' cried the cuckoo, +finishing its slice, ``your conclusions are more +hasty than courteous. If your brother is +disappointed this time, I go on the same journey every +year, and for your hospitable entertainment will +think it no trouble to bring each of you whichever +leaf you desire.'' + +``Darling cuckoo,'' cried Scrub, ``bring me a +golden one.'' + +And Spare, looking up from the green leaf on +which he gazed as though it were a crown-jewel, +said:-- + +``Be sure to bring me one from the merry tree.'' + +And away flew the cuckoo. + +``This is the feast of All Fools, and it ought to +be your birthday,'' said Scrub. ``Did ever man +fling away such an opportunity of getting rich? +Much good your merry leaves will do in the +midst of rags and poverty!'' + +But Spare laughed at him, and answered with +quaint old proverbs concerning the cares that +come with gold, till Scrub, at length getting +angry, vowed his brother was not fit to live with a +respectable man; and taking his lasts, his awls, +and his golden leaf, he left the wattle hut, and +went to tell the villagers. + +They were astonished at the folly of Spare, and +charmed with Scrub's good sense, particularly +when he showed them the golden leaf, and told +that the cuckoo would bring him one every spring. + +The new cobbler immediately took him into +partnership; the greatest people sent him their +shoes to mend. Fairfeather, a beautiful village +maiden, smiled graciously upon him; and in the +course of that summer they were married, with a +grand wedding feast, at which the whole village +danced except Spare, who was not invited, because +the bride could not bear his low-mindedness, +and his brother thought him a disgrace to the +family. + +As for Scrub he established himself with +Fairfeather in a cottage close by that of the new +cobbler, and quite as fine. There he mended shoes to +everybody's satisfaction, had a scarlet coat and a +fat goose for dinner on holidays. Fairfeather, too, +had a crimson gown, and fine blue ribbons; but +neither she nor Scrub was content, for to buy this +grandeur the golden leaf had to be broken and +parted With piece by piece, so the last morsel was +gone before the cuckoo came with another. + +Spare lived on in the old hut, and worked in the +cabbage-garden. (Scrub had got the barley-field +because he was the elder.) Every day his coat +grew more ragged, and the hut more weather- +beaten; but people remarked that he never +looked sad or sour. And the wonder was that, +from the time any one began to keep his company, +he or she grew kinder, happier, and content. + +Every first of April the cuckoo came tapping at +their doors with the golden leaf for Scrub, and the +green for Spare. Fairfeather would have entertained +it nobly with wheaten bread and honey, +for she had some notion of persuading it to bring +two golden leaves instead of one; but the cuckoo +flew away to eat barley bread with Spare, saying +it was not fit company for fine people, and liked +the old hut where it slept so snugly from Christmas +till spring. + +Scrub spent the golden leaves, and remained +always discontented; and Spare kept the merry +ones. + +I do not know how many years passed in this +manner, when a certain great lord, who owned +that village, came to the neighborhood. His +castle stood on the moor. It was ancient and +strong, with high towers and a deep moat. All +the country as far as one could see from the highest +turret belonged to its lord; but he had not been +there for twenty years, and would not have come +then only he was melancholy. And there he lived +in a very bad temper. The servants said nothing +would please him, and the villagers put on their +worst clothes lest he should raise their rents. + +But one day in the harvest-time His Lordship +chanced to meet Spare gathering water-cresses at +a meadow stream, and fell into talk with the +cobbler. How it was nobody could tell, but from that +hour the great lord cast away his melancholy. He +forgot all his woes, and went about with a noble +train, hunting, fishing, and making merry in his +hall, where all travelers were entertained, and all +the poor were welcome. + +This strange story spread through the North +Country, and great company came to the cobbler's +hut,--rich men who had lost their money, +poor men who had lost their friends, beauties who +had grown old, wits who had gone out of fashion, +--all came to talk with Spare, and, whatever +their troubles had been, all went home merry. + +The rich gave him presents, the poor gave him +thanks. Spare's coat ceased to be ragged, he had +bacon with his cabbage, and the villagers began +to think there was some sense in him. + + +By this time his fame had reached the capital +city, and even the court. There were a great +many discontented people there; and the king +had lately fallen into ill humor because a +neighboring princess, with seven islands for her dowry, +would not marry his eldest son. + +So a royal messenger was sent to Spare, with a +velvet mantle, a diamond ring, and a command +that he should repair to court immediately. + +``To-morrow is the first of April,'' said Spare, +``and I will go with you two hours after sunrise.'' + +The messenger lodged all night at the castle, +and the cuckoo came at sunrise with the merry +leaf. + +``Court is a fine place,'' it said, when the +cobbler told it he was going, ``but I cannot come +there; they would lay snares and catch me; so be +careful of the leaves I have brought you, and give +me a farewell slice of barley bread.'' + +Spare was sorry to part with the cuckoo, little +as he had of its company, but he gave it a slice +which would have broken Scrub's heart in former +times, it was so thick and large. And having +sewed up the leaves in the lining of his leather +doublet, he set out with the messenger on his way +to court. + +His coming caused great surprise there. +Everybody wondered what the king could see in such +a common-looking man; but scarcely had His +Majesty conversed with him half an hour, when +the princess and her seven islands were forgotten +and orders given that a feast for all comers should +be spread in the banquet hall. + +The princes of the blood, the great lords and +ladies, the ministers of state, after that discoursed +with Spare, and the more they talked the lighter +grew their hearts, so that such changes had never +been seen at court. + +The lords forgot their spites and the ladies their +envies, the princes and ministers made friends +among themselves, and the judges showed no +favor. + +As for Spare, he had a chamber assigned him in +the palace, and a seat at the king's table. One +sent him rich robes, and another costly jewels; but +in the midst of all his grandeur he still wore the +leathern doublet, and continued to live at the +king's court, happy and honored, and making all +others merry and content. + + +THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY OF STRASBURG + +A GERMAN FOLK-TALE + +BY J. STIRLING COYNE (ADAPTED) + +Once, long ago, there lived near the ancient city +of Strasburg, on the river Rhine, a young and +handsome count, whose name was Otto. As the +years flew by he remained unwed, and never so +much as cast a glance at the fair maidens of the +country round; for this reason people began to +call him ``Stone-Heart.'' + +It chanced that Count Otto, on one Christmas +Eve, ordered that a great hunt should take place +in the forest surrounding his castle. He and his +guests and his many retainers rode forth, and +the chase became more and more exciting. It +led through thickets, and over pathless tracts of +forest, until at length Count Otto found himself +separated from his companions. + +He rode on by himself until he came to a spring +of clear, bubbling water, known to the people +around as the ``Fairy Well.'' Here Count Otto +dismounted. He bent over the spring and began +to lave his hands in the sparkling tide, but to his +wonder he found that though the weather was +cold and frosty, the water was warm and delightfully +caressing. He felt a glow of joy pass through +his veins, and, as he plunged his hands deeper, he +fancied that his right hand was grasped by another, +soft and small, which gently slipped from +his finger the gold ring he always wore. And, lo! +when he drew out his hand, the gold ring was gone. + +Full of wonder at this mysterious event, the +count mounted his horse and returned to his +castle, resolving in his mind that the very next +day he would have the Fairy Well emptied by his +servants. + +He retired to his room, and, throwing himself +just as he was upon his couch, tried to sleep; but +the strangeness of the adventure kept him restless +and wakeful. + +Suddenly he heard the hoarse baying of the +watch-hounds in the courtyard, and then the +creaking of the drawbridge, as though it were +being lowered. Then came to his ear the patter of +many small feet on the stone staircase, and next +he heard indistinctly the sound of light footsteps +in the chamber adjoining his own. + +Count Otto sprang from his couch, and as he +did so there sounded a strain of delicious music, +and the door of his chamber was flung open. +Hurrying into the next room, he found himself in +the midst of numberless Fairy beings, clad in gay +and sparkling robes. They paid no heed to him, +but began to dance, and laugh, and sing, to the +sound of mysterious music. + +In the center of the apartment stood a splendid +Christmas Tree, the first ever seen in that country. +Instead of toys and candles there hung on +its lighted boughs diamond stars, pearl necklaces, +bracelets of gold ornamented with colored jewels, +aigrettes of rubies and sapphires, silken belts +embroidered with Oriental pearls, and daggers +mounted in gold and studded with the rarest +gems. The whole tree swayed, sparkled, and +glittered in the radiance of its many lights. + +Count Otto stood speechless, gazing at all this +wonder, when suddenly the Fairies stopped dancing +and fell back, to make room for a lady of +dazzling beauty who came slowly toward him. + +She wore on her raven-black tresses a golden +diadem set with jewels. Her hair flowed down +upon a robe of rosy satin and creamy velvet. She +stretched out two small, white hands to the count +and addressed him in sweet, alluring tones:-- + +``Dear Count Otto,'' said she, ``I come to +return your Christmas visit. I am Ernestine, the +Queen of the Fairies. I bring you something you +lost in the Fairy Well.'' + +And as she spoke she drew from her bosom a +golden casket, set with diamonds, and placed it in +his hands. He opened it eagerly and found within +his lost gold ring. + +Carried away by the wonder of it all, and +overcome by an irresistible impulse, the count pressed +the Fairy Ernestine to his heart, while she, holding +him by the hand, drew him into the magic +mazes of the dance. The mysterious music floated +through the room, and the rest of that Fairy +company circled and whirled around the Fairy Queen +and Count Otto, and then gradually dissolved +into a mist of many colors, leaving the count and +his beautiful guest alone. + +Then the young man, forgetting all his former +coldness toward the maidens of the country +round about, fell on his knees before the Fairy +and besought her to become his bride. At last +she consented on the condition that he should +never speak the word ``death'' in her presence. + +The next day the wedding of Count Otto and +Ernestine, Queen of the Fairies, was celebrated +with great pomp and magnificence, and the two +continued to live happily for many years. + +Now it happened on a time, that the count and +his Fairy wife were to hunt in the forest around +the castle. The horses were saddled and bridled, +and standing at the door, the company waited, +and the count paced the hall in great impatience; +but still the Fairy Ernestine tarried long in her +chamber. At length she appeared at the door of +the hall, and the count addressed her in anger. + +``You have kept us waiting so long,'' he cried, +``that you would make a good messenger to send +for Death!'' + +Scarcely had he spoken the forbidden and fatal +word, when the Fairy, uttering a wild cry, vanished +from his sight. In vain Count Otto, overwhelmed +with grief and remorse, searched the +castle and the Fairy Well, no trace could he find +of his beautiful, lost wife but the imprint of her +delicate hand set in the stone arch above the +castle gate. + +Years passed by, and the Fairy Ernestine did +not return. The count continued to grieve. +Every Christmas Eve he set up a lighted tree in +the room where he had first met the Fairy, hoping +in vain that she would return to him. + +Time passed and the count died. The castle +fell into ruins. But to this day may be seen above +the massive gate, deeply sunken in the stone arch, +the impress of a small and delicate hand. + +And such, say the good folk of Strasburg, was +the origin of the Christmas Tree. + + +THE THREE PURSES + +A LEGEND + +BY WILLIAM S. WALSH (ADAPTED) + +When Saint Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, there +were among his people three beautiful maidens, +daughters of a nobleman. Their father was so +poor that he could not afford to give them dowries, +and as in that land no maid might marry +without a dowry, so these three maidens could +not wed the youths who loved them. + +At last the father became so very poor that he +no longer had money with which to buy food or +clothes for his daughters, and he was overcome by +shame and sorrow. As for the daughters they +wept continually, for they were both cold and +hungry. + +One day Saint Nicholas heard of the sad state +of this noble family. So at night, when the +maidens were asleep, and the father was watching, +sorrowful and lonely, the good saint took a handful +of gold, and, tying it in a purse, set off for the +nobleman's house. Creeping to the open window +he threw the purse into the chamber, so that it +fell on the bed of the sleeping maidens. + +The father picked up the purse, and when he +opened it and saw the gold, he rejoiced greatly, +and awakened his daughters. He gave most of the +gold to his eldest child for a dowry, and thus she +was enabled to wed the young man whom she loved. + +A few days later Saint Nicholas filled another +purse with gold, and, as before, went by night +to the nobleman's house, and tossed the purse +through the open window. Thus the second +daughter was enabled to marry the young man +whom she loved. + +Now, the nobleman felt very grateful to the +unknown one who threw purses of gold into his +room and he longed to know who his benefactor +was and to thank him. So the next night he +watched beneath the open window. And when +all was dark, lo! good Saint Nicholas came for the +third time, carrying a silken purse filled with gold, +and as he was about to throw it on the youngest +maiden's bed, the nobleman caught him by his +robe, crying:-- + +``Ohs good Saint Nicholas! why do you hide +yourself thus?'' + +And he kissed the saint's hands and feet, but +Saint Nicholas, overcome with confusion at having +his good deed discovered, begged the nobleman +to tell no man what had happened. + +Thus the nobleman's third daughter was enabled +to marry the young man whom she loved; +and she and her father and her two sisters lived +happily for the remainder of their lives. + + +THE THUNDER OAK + +A SCANDINAVIAN LEGEND + +WILLIAM S. WALSH AND OTHER SOURCES + +When the heathen raged through the forests of +the ancient Northland there grew a giant tree +branching with huge limbs toward the clouds. +It was the Thunder Oak of the war-god Thor. + +Thither, under cover of night, heathen priests +were wont to bring their victims--both men and +beasts--and slay them upon the altar of the +thunder-god. There in the darkness was wrought +many an evil deed, while human blood was poured +forth and watered the roots of that gloomy tree, +from whose branches depended the mistletoe, the +fateful plant that sprang from the blood-fed veins +of the oak. So gloomy and terror-ridden was the +spot on which grew the tree that no beasts of field or +forest would lodge beneath its dark branches, nor +would birds nest or perch among its gnarled limbs. + +Long, long ago, on a white Christmas Eve, +Thor's priests held their winter rites beneath the +Thunder Oak. Through the deep snow of the +dense forest hastened throngs of heathen folk, all +intent on keeping the mystic feast of the mighty +Thor. In the hush of the night the folk gathered +in the glade where stood the tree. Closely they +pressed around the great altar-stone under the +overhanging boughs where stood the white- +robed priests. Clearly shone the moonlight on all. + +Then from the altar flashed upward the +sacrificial flames, casting their lurid glow on the +straining faces of the human victims awaiting the blow +of the priest's knife. + +But the knife never fell, for from the silent +avenues of the dark forest came the good Saint +Winfred and his people. Swiftly the saint drew +from his girdle a shining axe. Fiercely he smote +the Thunder Oak, hewing a deep gash in its +trunk. And while the heathen folk gazed in horror +and wonder, the bright blade of the axe +circled faster and faster around Saint Winfred's +head, and the flakes of wood flew far and wide +from the deepening cut in the body of the tree. + +Suddenly there was heard overhead the sound +of a mighty, rushing wind. A whirling blast +struck the tree. It gripped the oak from its +foundations. Backward it fell like a tower, +groaning as it split into four pieces. + +But just behind it, unharmed by the ruin, +stood a young fir tree, pointing its green spire to +heaven. + +Saint Winfred dropped his axe, and turned to +speak to the people. Joyously his voice rang out +through the crisp, winter air:-- + +``This little tree, a young child of the forest, +shall be your holy tree to-night. It is the tree of +peace, for your houses are built of fir. It is the +sign of endless life, for its leaves are forever green. +See how it points upward to heaven! Let this be +called the tree of the Christ Child. Gather about +it, not in the wildwood, but in your own homes. +There it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving +gifts and rites of kindness. So shall the peace of +the White Christ reign in your hearts!'' + +And with songs of joy the multitude of heathen +folk took up the little fir tree and bore it to the +house of their chief, and there with good will and +peace they kept the holy Christmastide. + + +THE CHRISTMAS THORN OF +GLASTONBURY + +A LEGEND OF ANCIENT BRITAIN + +ADAPTED FROM WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY AND OTHER SOURCES + +There is a golden Christmas legend and it +relates how Joseph of Arimathea--that good man +and just, who laid our Lord in his own sepulcher, +was persecuted by Pontius Pilate, and how he +fled from Jerusalem carrying with him the Holy +Grail hidden beneath a cloth of samite, mystical +and white. + +For many moons he wandered, leaning on his +staff cut from a white-thorn bush. He passed +over raging seas and dreary wastes, he wandered +through trackless forests, climbed rugged mountains, +and forded many floods. At last he came to +Gaul where the Apostle Philip was preaching the +glad tidings to the heathen. And there Joseph +abode for a little space. + +Now, upon a night while Joseph lay asleep in +his hut, he was wakened by a radiant light. And +as he gazed with wondering eyes he saw an +angel standing by his couch, wrapped in a cloud +of incense. + +``Joseph of Arimathea,'' said the angel, ``cross +thou over into Britain and preach the glad tidings +to King Arvigarus. And there, where a Christmas +miracle shall come to pass, do thou build the +first Christian church in that land.'' + +And while Joseph lay perplexed and wondering +in his heart what answer he should make, the +angel vanished from his sight. + +Then Joseph left his hut and calling the Apostle +Philip, gave him the angel's message. And, when +morning dawned, Philip sent him on his way, +accompanied by eleven chosen followers. To the +water's side they went, and embarking in a little +ship, they came unto the coasts of Britain. + +And they were met there by the heathen who +carried them before Arvigarus their king. To him +and to his people did Joseph of Arimathea preach +the glad tidings; but the king's heart, though +moved, was not convinced. Nevertheless he gave +to Joseph and his followers Avalon, the happy +isle, the isle of the blessed, and he bade them +depart straightway and build there an altar to their +God. + +And a wonderful gift was this same Avalon, +sometimes called the Island of Apples, and also +known to the people of the land as Ynis-witren, +the Isle of Glassy Waters. Beautiful and peaceful +was it. Deep it lay in the midst of a green valley, +and the balmy breezes fanned its apple orchards, +and scattered afar the sweet fragrance of rosy +blossoms or ripened fruit. Soft grew the green +grass beneath the feet. The smooth waves gently +lapped the shore, and water-lilies floated on the +surface of the tide; while in the blue sky above +sailed the fleecy clouds. + +And it was on the holy Christmas Eve that +Joseph and his companions reached the Isle of +Avalon. With them they carried the Holy Grail +hidden beneath its cloth of snow-white samite. +Heavily they toiled up the steep ascent of the +hill called Weary-All. And when they reached +the top Joseph thrust his thorn-staff into the +ground. + +And, lo! a miracle! the thorn-staff put forth +roots, sprouted and budded, and burst into a mass +of white and fragrant flowers! And on the spot +where the thorn had bloomed, there Joseph built +the first Christian church in Britain. And he +made it ``wattled all round'' of osiers gathered +from the water's edge. And in the chapel they +placed the Holy Grail. + +And so, it is said, ever since at Glastonbury +Abbey--the name by which that Avalon is +known to-day--on Christmas Eve the white +thorn buds and blooms. + + +THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE + +A LEGEND OF THE MIDDLE AGES + +BY JOHN OF HILDESHEIM-MODERNIZED BY +H. S. MORRIS (ADAPTED) + +THE STAR + +Now, when the Children of Israel were gone +out of Egypt, and had won and made subject to +them Jerusalem and all the land lying about, +there was in the Kingdom of Ind a tall hill called +the Hill of Vaws, or the Hill of Victory. On this +hill were stationed sentinels of Ind, who watched +day and night against the Children of Israel, and +afterward against the Romans. + +And if an enemy approached, the keepers of the +Hill of Vaws made a great fire to warn the +inhabitants of the land so that the men might make +ready to defend themselves. + +Now in the time when Balaam prophesied of +the Star that should betoken the birth of Christ, +all the great lords and the people of Ind and in the +East desired greatly to see this Star of which he +spake; and they gave gifts to the keepers of the +Hill of Vaws, and bade them, if they saw by +night or by day any star in the air, that had not +been seen aforetime, that they, the keepers, should +send anon word to the people of Ind. + +And thus was it that for so long a time the fame +of this Star was borne throughout the lands of the +East. And the more the Star was sought for, and +the more its fame increased, so much the more all +the people of the Land of Ind desired to see it. +So they ordained twelve of the wisest and greatest +of the clerks of astronomy, that were in all that +country about, and gave them great hire to keep +watch upon the Hill of Vaws for the Star that was +prophesied of Balaam. + +Now, when Christ was born in Bethlehem of +Judea, His Star began to rise in the manner of a +sun, bright shining. It ascended above the Hill of +Vaws, and all that day in the highest air it abode +without moving, insomuch that when the sun +was hot and most high there was no difference in +shining betwixt them. + +But when the day of the nativity was passed +the Star ascended up into the firmament, and it +had right many long streaks and beams, more +burning and brighter than a brand of fire; and, +as an eagle flying and beating the air with his +wings, right so the streaks and beams of the Star +stirred about. + +Then all the people, both man and woman, of +all that country about when they saw this marvelous +Star, were full of wonder thereat; yet they +knew well that it was the Star that was prophesied +of Balaam, and long time was desired of all +the people in that country. + +Now, when the three worshipful kings, who at +that time reigned in Ind, Chaldea, and Persia, +were informed by the astronomers of this Star, +they were right glad that they had grace to see the +Star in their days. + +Wherefore these three worshipful kings, +Melchior, Balthazar, and Jasper (in the same hour +the Star appeared to all three), though each of +them was far from the other, and none knew of +the others' purpose, decided to go and seek and +worship the Lord and King of the Jews, that was +new born, as the appearance of the Star announced. + +So each king prepared great and rich gifts, and +trains of mules, camels, and horses charged with +treasure, and together with a great multitude of +people they set forth on their journeys. + + +THE CHILD + + +Now, when these three worshipful kings were +passed forth out of their kingdoms, the Star went +before each king and his people. When they stood +still and rested, the Star stood still; and when they +went forward again, the Star always went before +them in virtue and strength and gave light all the +way. + +And, as it is written, in the time that Christ +was born, there was peace in all the world, wherefore +in all the cities and towns through which +they went there was no gate shut neither by night +nor by day; and all the people of those same cities +and towns marveled wonderfully as they saw +kings and vast multitudes go by in great haste; +but they knew not what they were, nor whence +they came, nor whither they should go. + +Furthermore these three kings rode forth over +hills, waters, valleys, plains, and other divers and +perilous places without hindrance, for all the way +seemed to them plain and even. And they never +took shelter by night nor by day, nor ever rested, +nor did their horses and other beasts ever eat or +drink till they had come to Bethlehem. And all +this time it did seem to them as one day. + +But when the three blessed kings had come +near to Jerusalem, then a great cloud of darkness +hid the Star from their sight. And when Melchior +and his people were come fast by the city, they +abode in fog and darkness. Then came Balthazar, +and he abode under the same cloud near unto +Melchior. Thereupon appeared Jasper with all +his host. + +So these three glorious kings, each with his host +and burdens and beasts, met together in the +highway without the city of Jerusalem. And, +notwithstanding that none of them ever before had +seen the other, nor knew him, nor had heard of +his coming, yet at their meeting each one with +great reverence and joy kissed the other. So +afterward, when they had spoken together and each +had told his purpose and the cause of his journey, +they were much more glad and fervent. So they +rode forth, and at the uprising of the sun, they came +into Jerusalem. And yet the Star appeared not. + +So then these three worshipful kings, when +they were come into the city, asked of the people +concerning the Child that was born; and when +Herod heard this he was troubled and all Jerusalem +with him, and he privately summoned to him +these three kings and learned of them the time +when the Star appeared. He then sent them +forth, bidding them find the young Child and +return to him. + +Now when these three kings were passed out of +Jerusalem the Star appeared to them again as it +did erst, and went before them till they were come +to Bethlehem. + +Now, the nearer the kings came to the place +where Christ was born, the brighter shined the +Star, and they entered Bethlehem the sixth hour +of the day. And they rode through the streets +till they came before a little house. There the Star +stood still, and then descended and shone with so +great a light that the little house was full of +radiance; till anon the Star went upward again into +the air, and stood still always above the same +place. + +And the three kings went into the little house +and found the Child with his mother, and they +fell down and worshiped him, and offered him +gifts. + +And you shall understand that these three kings +had brought great gifts from their own lands, rich +ornaments and divers golden vessels, and many +jewels and precious stones, and both gold and +silver,--these they had brought to offer to the King +of the Jews. But when they found the Lord in a +little-house, in poor clothes, and when they saw +that the Star gave so great and holy a light in all +the place that it seemed as though they stood in a +furnace of fire, then were they so sore afraid, that +of all the rich jewels and ornaments they had +brought with them, they chose from their treasures +what came first to their hands. For Melchior +took a round apple of gold in his hand, and +thirty gilt pennies, and these he offered unto our +Lord; and Balthazar took out of his treasury incense; +and Jasper took out myrrh, and that he +offered with weeping and tears. + +And now after these three kings had worshiped +the Lord, they abode in Bethlehem for a little +space, and as they abode, there came a command +to them, in their sleep, that they should not +return to Herod; and so by another way they went +home to their kingdoms. But the Star that had +gone before appeared no more. + +So these three kings, who had suddenly met +together in the highway before Jerusalem, went +home together with great joy and honor. And +when, after many days' journey over perilous +places, they had come to the Hill of Vaws, they +made there a fair chapel in worship of the Child +they had sought. Also they agreed to meet +together at the same place once in the year, and they +ordained that the Hill of Vaws should be the place +of their burial. + +So when the three worshipful kings had done +what they would, they took leave of each other, +and each one with his people rode to his own land +rejoicing. + + +HOW THEY CAME TO COLOGNE + + +Now, after many years, a little before the feast +of Christmas, there appeared a wonderful Star +above the cities where these three kings dwelt, +and they knew thereby that their time was come +when they should pass from earth. Then with +one consent they built, at the Hill of Vaws, a fair +and large tomb, and there the three Holy Kings, +Melchior, Balthazar, and Jasper died, and were +buried in the same tomb by their sorrowing +people. + +Now after much time had passed away, Queen +Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, +began to think greatly of the bodies of these three +kings, and she arrayed herself, and, accompanied +by many attendants, went into the Land of Ind. + +And you shall understand that after she had +found the bodies of Melchior, Balthazar, and +Jasper, Queen Helen put them into one chest and +ornamented it with great riches, and she brought +them into Constantinople, with joy and reverence, +and laid them in a church that is called +Saint Sophia; and this church the Emperor +Constantine did make,--he alone, with a little child, +set up all the marble pillars thereof. + +Now, after the death of the Emperor Constantine +a persecution against the Christian faith +arose, and in this persecution the bodies of the +three worshipful kings were set at naught. Then +came the Emperor Mauricius of Rome, and, +through his counsel, the bodies of these three +kings were carried to Italy, and there they were +laid in a fair church in the city of Milan. + +Then afterward, in the process of time, the city +of Milan rebelled against the Emperor Frederick +the First, and he, being sore beset, sent to Rainald, +Archbishop of Cologne, asking for help. + +This Archbishop with his army did take the +city of Milan, and delivered it to the Emperor. +And for this service did the Emperor grant, at +the Archbishop's great entreaty, that he should +carry forth to Cologne the bodies of the three +blessed kings. + +Then the Archbishop, with great solemnity and +in procession, did carry forth from the city of +Milan the bodies of the three kings, and brought +them unto Cologne and there placed them in the +fair church of Saint Peter. And all the people of +the country roundabout, with all the reverence +they might, received these relics, and there in the +city of Cologne they are kept and beholden of all +manner of nations unto this day. + + +Thus endeth the legend of these three blessed +kings,--Melchior, Balthazar, and Jasper. + + + +ARBOR DAY + + +THE LITTLE TREE THAT LONGED +FOR OTHER LEAVES + +BY FRIEDRICH RUCHERT (TRANSLATED) + +There was a little tree that stood in the woods +through both good and stormy weather, and it +was covered from top to bottom with needles +instead of leaves. The needles were sharp and +prickly, so the little tree said to itself:-- + +``All my tree comrades have beautiful green +leaves, and I have only sharp needles. No one +will touch me. If I could have a wish I would ask +for leaves of pure gold.'' + +When night came the little tree fell asleep, and, +lo! in the morning it woke early and found itself +covered with glistening, golden leaves. + +``Ah, ah!'' said the little tree, ``how grand I +am! No other tree in the woods is dressed in +gold.'' + +But at evening time there came a peddler with +a great sack and a long beard. He saw the glitter +of the golden leaves. He picked them all and +hurried away leaving the little tree cold and +bare. + +``Alas! alas!'' cried the little tree in sorrow; +``all my golden leaves are gone! I am ashamed +to stand among the other trees that have such +beautiful foliage. If I only had another wish I +would ask for leaves of glass.'' + +Then the little tree fell asleep, and when it +woke early, it found itself covered with bright +and shining leaves of glass. + +``Now,'' said the little tree, ``I am happy. No +tree in the woods glistens like me.'' + +But there came a fierce storm-wind driving +through the woods. It struck the glass, and in a +moment all the shining leaves lay shattered on +the ground. + +``My leaves, my glass leaves!'' moaned the +little tree; ``they lie broken in the dust, while all +the other trees are still dressed in their beautiful +foliage. Oh! if I had another wish I would ask for +green leaves.'' + +Then the little tree slept again, and in the +morning it was covered with fresh, green foliage. +And it laughed merrily, and said: ``Now, I need +not be ashamed any more. I am like my comrades +of the woods.'' + +But along came a mother-goat, looking for +grass and herbs for herself and her young ones. +She saw the crisp, new leaves; and she nibbled, +and nibbled, and nibbled them all away, and she +ate up both stems and tender shoots, till the little +tree stood bare. + +``Alas!'' cried the little tree in anguish, ``I +want no more leaves, neither gold ones nor glass +ones, nor green and red and yellow ones! If I +could only have my needles once more, I would +never complain again.'' + +And sorrowfully the little tree fell asleep, but +when it saw itself in the morning sunshine, it +laughed and laughed and laughed. And all the +other trees laughed, too, but the little tree did not +care. Why did they laugh? Because in the night +all its needles had come again! You may see this +for yourself. Just go into the woods and look, but +do not touch the little tree. Why not? BECAUSE IT +PRICKS. + + +WHY THE EVERGREEN TREES +NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES + +BY FLORENCE HOLBROOK + +Winter was coming, and the birds had flown +far to the south, where the air was warm and they +could find berries to eat. One little bird had +broken its wing and could not fly with the others. +It was alone in the cold world of frost and snow. +The forest looked warm, and it made its way to +the trees as well as it could, to ask for help. + +First it came to a birch tree. ``Beautiful birch +tree,'' it said, ``my wing is broken, and my friends +have flown away. May I live among your +branches till they come back to me?'' + +``No, indeed,'' answered the birch tree, drawing +her fair green leaves away. ``We of the great +forest have our own birds to help. I can do +nothing for you.'' + +``The birch is not very strong,'' said the little +bird to itself, ``and it might be that she could not +hold me easily. I will ask the oak.'' So the bird +said: ``Great oak tree, you are so strong, will you +not let me live on your boughs till my friends +come back in the springtime?'' + +``In the springtime!'' cried the oak. ``That is a +long way off. How do I know what you might do +in all that time? Birds are always looking for +something to eat, and you might even eat up some +of my acorns.'' + +``It may be that the willow will be kind to me,'' +thought the bird, and it said: ``Gentle willow, my +wing is broken, and I could not fly to the south +with the other birds. May I live on your branches +till the springtime?'' + +The willow did not look gentle then, for she +drew herself up proudly and said: ``Indeed, I do +not know you, and we willows never talk to people +whom we do not know. Very likely there are +trees somewhere that will take in strange birds. +Leave me at once.'' + +The poor little bird did not know what to do. +Its wing was not yet strong, but it began to fly +away as well as it could. Before it had gone far a +voice was heard. ``Little bird,'' it said, ``where +are you going?'' + +``Indeed, I do not know,'' answered the bird +sadly. ``I am very cold.'' + +``Come right here, then,'' said the friendly +spruce tree, for it was her voice that had called. + +``You shall live on my warmest branch all winter +if you choose.'' + +``Will you really let me?'' asked the little bird +eagerly. + +``Indeed, I will,'' answered the kind-hearted +spruce tree. ``If your friends have flown away, it +is time for the trees to help you. Here is the +branch where my leaves are thickest and softest.'' + +``My branches are not very thick,'' said the +friendly pine tree, ``but I am big and strong, and +I can keep the North Wind from you and the +spruce.'' + +``I can help, too,'' said a little juniper tree. ``I +can give you berries all winter long, and every +bird knows that juniper berries are good.'' + +So the spruce gave the lonely little bird a home; +the pine kept the cold North Wind away from it; +and the juniper gave it berries to eat. The other +trees looked on and talked together wisely. + +``I would not have strange birds on my +boughs,'' said the birch. + +``I shall not give my acorns away for any one,'' +said the oak. + +``I never have anything to do with strangers,'' +said the willow, and the three trees drew their +leaves closely about them. + +In the morning all those shining, green leaves +lay on the ground, for a cold North Wind had +come in the night, and every leaf that it touched +fell from the tree. + +``May I touch every leaf in the forest?'' asked +the wind in its frolic. + +``No,'' said the Frost King. ``The trees that +have been kind to the little bird with the broken +wing may keep their leaves.'' + +This is why the leaves of the spruce, the pine, +and the juniper are always green. + + +WHY THE ASPEN QUIVERS + +OLD LEGEND + +Long, long ago, so the legend says, when Joseph +and Mary and the Holy Babe fled out of +Bethlehem into Egypt, they passed through the +green wildwood. And flowers and trees and +plants bent their heads in reverence. + +But the proud aspen held its head high and +refused even to look at the Holy Babe. In vain the +birds sang in the aspen's branches, entreating it +to gaze for one moment at the wonderful One; +the proud tree still held its head erect in scorn. + +Then outspake Mary, his mother. ``O aspen +tree,'' she said, ``why do you not gaze on the Holy +Child? Why do you not bow your head? A star +arose at his birth, angels sang his first lullaby, +kings and shepherds came to the brightness of his +rising; why, then, O aspen, do you refuse to honor +your Lord and mine?'' + +But the aspen could not answer. A strange +shivering passed through its stem and along its +boughs, which set its leaves a-quivering. It +trembled before the Holy Babe. + +And so from age to age, even unto this day, the +proud aspen shakes and shivers. + + +THE WONDER TREE + +BY FRIEDRICH ADOLPH KRUMMACHER (ADAPTED) + +One day in the springtime, Prince Solomon was +sitting under the palm trees in the royal gardens, +when he saw the Prophet Nathan walking near. + +``Nathan,'' said the Prince, ``I would see a +wonder.'' + +The Prophet smiled. ``I had the same desire +in the days of my youth,'' he replied. + +``And was it fulfilled?'' asked Solomon. + +``A Man of God came to me,'' said Nathan, +``having a pomegranate seed in his hand. +`Behold,' he said, `what will become of this.' Then +he made a hole in the ground, and planted the +seed, and covered it over. When he withdrew his +hand the clods of earth opened, and I saw two +small leaves coming forth. But scarcely had I +beheld them, when they joined together and became +a small stem wrapped in bark; and the stem grew +before my eyes,--and it grew thicker and higher +and became covered with branches. + +``I marveled, but the Man of God motioned me +to be silent. `Behold,' said he, `new creations +begin.' + +``Then he took water in the palm of his hand, +and sprinkled the branches three times, and, lo! +the branches were covered with green leaves, so +that a cool shade spread above us, and the air +was fined with perfume. + +`` `From whence come this perfume and this +shade?' cried I. + +`` `Dost thou not see,' he answered, `these +crimson flowers bursting from among the leaves, and +hanging in clusters?' + +``I was about to speak, but a gentle breeze +moved the leaves, scattering the petals of the +flowers around us. Scarcely had the falling flowers +reached the ground when I saw ruddy pomegranates +hanging beneath the leaves of the tree, +like almonds on Aaron's rod. Then the Man of +God left me, and I was lost in amazement.'' + +``Where is he, this Man of God?'' asked Prince +Solomon eagerly. ``What is his name? Is he +still alive?'' + + +``Son of David,'' answered Nathan, ``I have +spoken to thee of a vision.'' + +When the Prince heard this he was grieved to +the heart. ``How couldst thou deceive me thus?'' +he asked. + +But the Prophet replied: ``Behold in thy father's +gardens thou mayest daily see the unfolding +of wonder trees. Doth not this same miracle happen +to the fig, the date, and the pomegranate? +They spring from the earth, they put out branches +and leaves, they flower, they fruit,--not in a +moment, perhaps, but in months and years,-- +but canst thou tell the difference betwixt a +minute, a month, or a year in the eyes of Him with +whom one day is as a thousand years, and a +thousand years as one day?'' + + +THE PROUD OAK TREE +OLD FABLE[11] + + +[11] From Deutsches Drittes Lesebuch, by W. H. Weick and C. +Grebner. Copyright, 1886, by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. +American Book Company, publishers. + + +(TRANSLATED) + +The oak said to the reed that grew by the river: +``It is no wonder that you make such a sorrowful +moaning, for you are so weak that the little wren +is a burden for you, and the lightest breeze must +seem like a storm-wind. Now look at me! No +storm has ever been able to bow my head. You +will be much safer if you grow close to my side so +that I may shelter you from the wind that is now +playing with my leaves.'' + +``Do not worry about me,'' said the reed; ``I +have less reason to fear the wind than you have. +I bow myself, but I never break. He who laughs +last, laughs best!'' + +That night there came a fearful hurricane. The +oak stood erect. The reed bowed itself before the +blast. The wind grew more furious, and, uprooting +the proud oak, flung it on the ground. + +When the morning came there stood the slender +reed, glittering with dewdrops, and softly +swaying in the breeze. + + +BAUCIS AND PHILEMON + +ADAPTED FROM H. P. MASKEL'S RENDERING +OF THE GREEK MYTH + +On the slopes of the Phrygian hills, there once +dwelt a pious old couple named Baucis and +Philemon. They had lived all their lives in a tiny +cottage of wattles, thatched with straw, cheerful and +content in spite of their poverty. + +As this worthy couple sat dozing by the fireside +one evening in the late autumn, two strangers +came and begged a shelter for the night. They +had to stoop to enter the humble doorway, where +the old man welcomed them heartily and bade +them rest their weary limbs on the settle before +the fire. + +Meanwhile Baucis stirred the embers, blowing +them into a flame with dry leaves, and heaped on +the fagots to boil the stew-pot. Hanging from the +blackened beams was a rusty side of bacon. Philemon +cut off a rasher to roast, and, while his +guests refreshed themselves with a wash at the +rustic trough, he gathered pot-herbs from his +patch of garden. Then the old woman, her hands +trembling with age, laid the cloth and spread the +table. + +It was a frugal meal, but one that hungry +wayfarers could well relish. The first course was an +omelette of curdled milk and eggs, garnished with +radishes and served on rude oaken platters. The +cups of turned beechwood were filled with homemade +wine from an earthen jug. The second +course consisted of dried figs and dates, plums, +sweet-smelling apples, and grapes, with a piece +of clear, white honeycomb. What made the meal +more grateful to the guests was the hearty spirit +in which it was offered. Their hosts gave all they +had without stint or grudging. + +But all at once something happened which +startled and amazed Baucis and Philemon. They +poured out wine for their guests, and, lo! each +time the pitcher filled itself again to the brim. + +The old couple then knew that their guests were +not mere mortals; indeed, they were no other +than Jupiter and Mercury come down to earth +in the disguise of poor travelers. Being ashamed +of their humble entertainment, Philemon hurried +out and gave chase to his only goose, intending +to kill and roast it. But his guests forbade him, +saying:-- + +``In mortal shape we have come down, and at a +hundred houses asked for lodging and rest. For +answer a hundred doors were shut and locked +against us. You alone, the poorest of all, have +received us gladly and given us of your best. Now +it is for us to punish these impious people who +treat strangers so churlishly, but you two shall be +spared. Only leave your cottage and follow us to +yonder mountain-top.'' + +So saying, Jupiter and Mercury led the way, +and the two old folks hobbled after them. Presently +they reached the top of the mountain, and +Baucis and Philemon saw all the country round, +with villages and people, sinking into a marsh; +while their own cottage alone was left standing. + +And while they gazed, their cottage was +changed into a white temple. The doorway became +a porch with marble columns. The thatch +grew into a roof of golden tiles. The little garden +about their home became a park. + +Then Jupiter, regarding Baucis and Philemon +with kindly eyes, said: ``Tell me, O good old man +and you good wife, what may we do in return for +your hospitality?'' + +Philemon whispered for a moment with Baucis, +and she nodded her approval. ``We desire,'' he +replied, ``to be your servants, and to have the +care of this temple. One other favor we would +ask. From boyhood I have loved only Baucis, +and she has lived only for me. Let the selfsame +hour take us both away together. Let me never +see the tomb of my wife, nor let her suffer the +misery of mourning my death.'' + +Jupiter and Mercury, pleased with these +requests, willingly granted both, and endowed +Baucis and Philemon with youth and strength as +well. The gods then vanished from their sight, +but as long as their lives lasted Baucis and +Philemon were the guardians of the white temple that +once had been their home. + +And when again old age overtook them, they +were standing one day in front of the sacred +porch, and Baucis, turning her gaze upon her +husband, saw him slowly changing into a gnarled +oak tree. And Philemon, as he felt himself rooted +to the ground, saw Baucis at the same time turning +into a leafy linden. + +And as their faces disappeared behind the green +foliage, each cried unto the other, ``Farewell, +dearest love!'' and again, ``Dearest love, +farewell!'' And their human forms were changed to +trees and branches. + +And still, if you visit the spot, you may see an +oak and a linden tree with branches intertwined. + + +THE UNFRUITFUL TREE + +BY FRIEDRICH ADOLPH KRUMMACHER + +A farmer had a brother in town who was a gardener, +and who possessed a magnificent orchard +full of the finest fruit trees, so that his skill and his +beautiful trees were famous everywhere. + +One day the farmer went into town to visit his +brother, and was astonished at the rows of trees +that grew slender and smooth as wax tapers. + +``Look, my brother,'' said the gardener; ``I will +give you an apple tree, the best from my garden, +and you, and your children, and your children's +children shall enjoy it.'' + +Then the gardener called his workmen and +ordered them to take up the tree and carry it to +his brother's farm. They did so, and the next +morning the farmer began to wonder where he +should plant it. + +``If I plant it on the hill,'' said he to himself, +``the wind might catch it and shake down the +delicious fruit before it is ripe; if I plant it close to the +road, passers-by will see it and rob me of its luscious +apples; but if I plant it too near the door of +my house, my servants or the children may pick +the fruit.'' + +So, after he had thought the matter over, he +planted the tree behind his barn, saying to himself: +``Prying thieves will not think to look for it +here.'' + +But behold, the tree bore neither fruit nor +blossoms the first year nor the second; then the +farmer sent for his brother the gardener, and +reproached him angrily, saying:-- + +``You have deceived me, and given me a barren +tree instead of a fruitful one. For, behold, this is +the third year and still it brings forth nothing but +leaves!'' + +The gardener, when he saw where the tree was +planted, laughed and said:-- + +``You have planted the tree where it is exposed +to cold winds, and has neither sun nor warmth. +How, then, could you expect flowers and fruit? +You have planted the tree with a greedy and +suspicious heart; how, then, could you expect to +reap a rich and generous harvest?'' + + +THE DRYAD OF THE OLD OAK + +BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL (ADAPTED) + +In olden times there was a youth named Rhoecus. +One day as he wandered through the wood he saw +an ancient oak tree, trembling and about to fall. +Full of pity for so fair a tree, Rhoecus carefully +propped up its trunk, and as he did so he heard a +soft voice murmur:-- + +``Rhoecus!'' + +It sounded like the gentle sighing of the wind +through the leaves; and while Rhoecus paused +bewildered to listen, again he heard the murmur +like a soft breeze:-- + +``Rhoecus!'' + +And there stood before him, in the green glooms +of the shadowy oak, a wonderful maiden. + +``Rhoecus,'' said she, in low-toned words, serene +and full, and as clear as drops of dew, ``I am the +Dryad of this tree, and with it I am doomed to +live and die. Thou hadst compassion on my oak, +and in saving it thou hast saved my life. Now, +ask me what thou wilt that I can give, and it +shall be thine.'' + +``Beauteous nymph,'' answered Rhoecus, with a +flutter at the heart, ``surely nothing will satisfy +the craving of my soul save to be with thee forever. +Give to me thy love!'' + +``I give it, Rhoecus,'' answered she with sadness +in her voice, ``though it be a perilous gift. An hour +before sunset meet me here.'' + +And straightway she vanished, and Rhoecus +could see nothing but the green glooms beneath +the shadowy oak. Not a sound came to his straining +ears but the low, trickling rustle of the leaves, +and, from far away on the emerald slope, the +sweet sound of an idle shepherd's pipe. + +Filled with wonder and joy Rhoecus turned his +steps homeward. The earth seemed to spring +beneath him as he walked. The clear, broad sky +looked bluer than its wont, and so full of joy was +he that he could scarce believe that he had not +wings. + +Impatient for the trysting-time, he sought some +companions, and to while away the tedious hours, +he played at dice, and soon forgot all else. + +The dice were rattling their merriest, and Rhoecus +had just laughed in triumph at a happy throw, +when through the open window of the room there +hummed a yellow bee. It buzzed about his ears, +and seemed ready to alight upon his head. At this +Rhoecus laughed, and with a rough, impatient +hand he brushed it off and cried:-- + +``The silly insect! does it take me for a rose?'' + +But still the bee came back. Three times it +buzzed about his head, and three times he rudely +beat it back. Then straight through the window +flew the wounded bee, while Rhoecus watched its +fight with angry eyes. + +And as he looked--O sorrow!--the red disk +of the setting sun descended behind the sharp +mountain peak of Thessaly. + +Then instantly the blood sank from his heart, as +if its very walls had caved in, for he remembered +the trysting-hour-now gone by! Without a word +he turned and rushed forth madly through the city +and the gate, over the fields into the wood. + +Spent of breath he reached the tree, and, +listening fearfully, he heard once more the low voice +murmur:-- + +``Rhoecus!'' + +But as he looked he could see nothing but the +deepening glooms beneath the oak. + +Then the voice sighed: ``O Rhoecus, nevermore +shalt thou behold me by day or night! Why didst +thou fail to come ere sunset? Why didst thou +scorn my humble messenger, and send it back to +me with bruised wings? We spirits only show ourselves +to gentle eyes! And he who scorns the +smallest thing alive is forever shut away from all +that is beautiful in woods and fields. Farewell! +for thou canst see me no more!'' + +Then Rhoecus beat his breast and groaned aloud. +``Be pitiful,'' he cried. ``Forgive me yet this +once!'' + +``Alas,'' the voice replied, ``I am not unmerciful! +I can forgive! But I have no skill to heal thy +spirit's eyes, nor can I change the temper of thy +heart.'' And then again she murmured, ``Nevermore!'' + +And after that Rhoecus heard no other sound, +save the rustling of the oak's crisp leaves, like +surf upon a distant shore. + + +DAPHNE + +BY OVID (ADAPTED) + +In ancient times, when Apollo, the god of the +shining sun, roamed the earth, he met Cupid, who +with bended bow and drawn string was seeking +human beings to wound with the arrows of love. + +``Silly boy,'' said Apollo, ``what dost thou with +the warlike bow? Such burden best befits my +shoulders, for did I not slay the fierce serpent, the +Python, whose baleful breath destroyed all that +came nigh him? Warlike arms are for the mighty, +not for boys like thee! Do thou carry a torch with +which to kindle love in human hearts, but no +longer lay claim to my weapon, the bow!'' + +But Cupid replied in anger: ``Let thy bow +shoot what it will, Apollo, but my bow shall shoot +THEE!'' And the god of love rose up, and beating +the air with his wings, he drew two magic arrows +from his quiver. One was of shining gold and with +its barbed point could Cupid inflict wounds of +love; the other arrow was of dull silver and its +wound had the power to engender hate. + +The silver arrow Cupid fixed in the breast of +Daphne, the daughter of the river-god Peneus; +and forthwith she fled away from the homes of +men, and hunted beasts in the forest. + +With the golden arrow Cupid grievously +wounded Apollo, who fleeing to the woods saw +there the Nymph Daphne pursuing the deer; and +straightway the sun-god fell in love with her +beauty. Her golden locks hung down upon her +neck, her eyes were like stars, her form was slender +and graceful and clothed in clinging white. +Swifter than the light wind she flew, and Apollo +followed after. + +``O Nymph! daughter of Peneus,'' he cried, +``stay, I entreat thee! Why dost thou fly as a +lamb from the wolf, as a deer from the lion, or as a +dove with trembling wings Bees from the eagle! I +am no common man! I am no shepherd! Thou +knowest not, rash maid, from whom thou art flying! +The priests of Delphi and Tenedos pay their +service to me. Jupiter is my sire. Mine own +arrow is unerring, but Cupid's aim is truer, for he +has made this wound in my heart! Alas! wretched +me! though I am that great one who discovered +the art of healing, yet this love may not be healed +by my herbs nor my skill!'' + +But Daphne stopped not at these words, she +flew from him with timid step. The winds fluttered +her garments, the light breezes spread her +flowing locks behind her. Swiftly Apollo drew +near even as the keen greyhound draws near to +the frightened hare he is pursuing. With trembling +limbs Daphne sought the river, the home of +her father, Peneus. Close behind her was Apollo, +the sun-god. She felt his breath on her hair and +his hand on her shoulder. Her strength was spent, +she grew pale, and in faint accents she implored +the river:-- + +``O save me, my father, save me from Apollo, +the sun-god!'' + +Scarcely had she thus spoken before a heaviness +seized her limbs. Her breast was covered with +bark, her hair grew into green leaves, and her +arms into branches. Her feet, a moment before so +swift, became rooted to the ground. And Daphne +was no longer a Nymph, but a green laurel tree. + +When Apollo beheld this change he cried out +and embraced the tree, and kissed its leaves. + +``Beautiful Daphne,'' he said, ``since thou cannot +be my bride, yet shalt thou be my tree. Henceforth +my hair, my lyre, and my quiver shall be +adorned with laurel. Thy wreaths shall be given +to conquering chiefs, to winners of fame and joy; +and as my head has never been shorn of its locks, +so shalt thou wear thy green leaves, winter and +summer--forever!'' + +Apollo ceased speaking and the laurel bent its +new-made boughs in assent, and its stem seemed +to shake and its leaves gently to murmur. + + + +BIRD DAY + + +THE OLD WOMAN WHO BECAME A +WOODPECKER + +BY PHOEBE CARY (ADAPTED) + +Afar in the Northland, where the winter days are +so short and the nights so long, and where they +harness the reindeer to sledges, and where the +children look like bear's cubs in their funny, furry +clothes, there, long ago, wandered a good Saint on +the snowy roads. + +He came one day to the door of a cottage, and +looking in saw a little old woman making cakes, +and baking them on the hearth. + +Now, the good Saint was faint with fasting, and +he asked if she would give him one small cake +wherewith to stay his hunger. + +So the little old woman made a VERY SMALL +cake and placed it on the hearth; but as it lay +baking she looked at it and thought: ``That is +a big cake, indeed, quite too big for me to give +away.'' + +Then she kneaded another cake, much smaller, +and laid that on the hearth to cook, but when she +turned it over it looked larger than the first. + +So she took a tiny scrap of dough, and rolled it +out, and rolled it out, and baked it as thin as a +wafer; but when it was done it looked so large that +she could not bear to part with it; and she said: +``My cakes are much too big to give away,''-- +and she put them on the shelf. + +Then the good Saint grew angry, for he was +hungry and faint. ``You are too selfish to have a +human form,'' said he. ``You are too greedy to +deserve food, shelter, and a warm fire. Instead, +henceforth, you shall build as the birds do, and +get your scanty living by picking up nuts and +berries and by boring, boring all the day long, in +the bark of trees.'' + +Hardly had the good Saint said this when the +little old woman went straight up the chimney, +and came out at the top changed into a red- +headed woodpecker with coal-black feathers. + +And now every country boy may see her in the +woods, where she lives in trees boring, boring, +boring for her food. + + +THE BOY WHO BECAME A ROBIN + +AN OJIBBEWAY LEGEND + +BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time there was an old Indian who +had an only son, whose name was Opeechee. The +boy had come to the age when every Indian lad +makes a long fast, in order to secure a Spirit to be +his guardian for life. + +Now, the old man was very proud, and he +wished his son to fast longer than other boys, and +to become a greater warrior than all others. So he +directed him to prepare with solemn ceremonies +for the fast. + +After the boy had been in the sweating lodge +and bath several times, his father commanded +him to lie down upon a clean mat, in a little +lodge apart from the rest. + +``My son,'' said he, ``endure your hunger like a +man, and at the end of TWELVE DAYS, you shall +receive food and a blessing from my hands.'' + +The boy carefully did all that his father +commanded, and lay quietly with his face covered, +awaiting the arrival of his guardian Spirit who +was to bring him good or bad dreams. + +His father visited him every day, encouraging +him to endure with patience the pangs of hunger +and thirst. He told him of the honor and renown +that would be his if he continued his fast to the +end of the twelve days. + +To all this the boy replied not, but lay on his +mat without a murmur of discontent, until the +ninth day; when he said:-- + +``My father, the dreams tell me of evil. May I +break my fast now, and at a better time make a +new one?'' + +``My son,'' replied the old man, ``you know not +what you ask. If you get up now, all your glory +will depart. Wait patiently a little longer. You +have but three days more to fast, then glory and +honor will be yours.'' + +The boy said nothing more, but, covering +himself closer, he lay until the eleventh day, when he +spoke again:-- + +``My father,'' said he, ``the dreams forebode +evil. May I break my fast now, and at a better +time make a new one?'' + +``My son,'' replied the old man again, ``you know +not what you ask. Wait patiently a little longer. +You have but one more day to fast. To-morrow I +will myself prepare a meal and bring it to you.'' + +The boy remained silent, beneath his covering, +and motionless except for the gentle heaving of +his breast. + +Early the next morning his father, overjoyed at +having gained his end, prepared some food. He +took it and hastened to the lodge intending to set +it before his son. + +On coming to the door of the lodge what was his +surprise to hear the boy talking to some one. He +lifted the curtain hanging before the doorway, +and looking in saw his son painting his breast with +vermilion. And as the lad laid on the bright color +as far back on his shoulders as he could reach, he +was saying to himself:-- + +``My father has destroyed my fortune as a +man. He would not listen to my requests. I shall +be happy forever, because I was obedient to my +parent; but he shall suffer. My guardian Spirit +has given me a new form, and now I must go!'' + +At this his father rushed into the lodge, crying: + +``My son! my son! I pray you leave me not!'' + +But the boy, with the quickness of a bird, flew +to the top of the lodge, and perching upon the +highest pole, was instantly changed into a most +beautiful robin redbreast. + +He looked down on his father with pity in his +eyes, and said:-- + +``Do not sorrow, O my father, I am no longer +your boy, but Opeechee the robin. I shall always +be a friend to men, and live near their dwellings. +I shall ever be happy and content. Every day will +I sing you songs of joy. The mountains and fields +yield me food. My pathway is in the bright air.'' + +Then Opeechee the robin stretched himself as +if delighting in his new wings, and caroling his +sweetest song, he flew away to the near-by trees. + + +THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW +BY A. B. MITFORD (ADAPTED) + +Once upon a time there lived a little old man and +a little old woman. The little old man had a kind +heart, and he kept a young sparrow, which he +cared for tenderly. Every morning it used to sing +at the door of his house. + +Now, the little old woman was a cross old thing, +and one day when she was going to starch her +linen, the sparrow pecked at her paste. Then she +flew into a great rage and cut the sparrow's tongue +and let the bird fly away. + +When the little old man came home from the +hills, where he had been chopping wood, he found +the sparrow gone. + +``Where is my little sparrow?'' asked he. + +``It pecked at my starching-paste,'' answered +the little old woman, ``so I cut its evil tongue and +let it fly away.'' + +``Alas! Alas!'' cried the little old man. ``Poor +thing! Poor thing! Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! +Where is your home now?'' + +And then he wandered far and wide seeking his +pet and crying:-- + +``Mr. Sparrow, Mr. Sparrow, where are you +living?'' + +And he wandered on and on, over mountain +and valley, and dale and river, until one day at +the foot of a certain mountain he met the lost bird. +The little old man was filled with joy and the +sparrow welcomed him with its sweetest song. + +It led the little old man to its nest-house, +introduced him to its wife and small sparrows, and set +before him all sorts of good things to eat and +drink. + +``Please partake of our humble fare,'' sang the +sparrow; ``poor as it is, you are welcome.'' + +``What a polite sparrow,'' answered the little +old man, and he stayed for a long time as the +bird's guest. At last one day the little old man +said that he must take his leave and return home. + +``Wait a bit,'' said the sparrow. + +And it went into the house and brought out +two wicker baskets. One was very heavy and the +other light. + +``Take the one you wish,'' said the sparrow, +``and good fortune go with you.'' + +``I am very feeble,'' answered the little old man, +``so I will take the light one.'' + +He thanked the sparrow, and, shouldering the +basket, said good-bye. Then he trudged off +leaving the sparrow family sad and lonely. + +When he reached home the little old woman +was very angry, and began to scold him, saying:-- + +``Well, and pray where have you been all these +days? A pretty thing, indeed, for you to be +gadding about like this!'' + +``Oh,'' he replied, ``I have been on a visit to the +tongue-cut sparrow, and when I came away it +gave me this wicker basket as a parting gift.'' + +Then they opened the basket to see what was +inside, and lo and behold! it was full of gold, +silver, and other precious things! + +The little old woman was as greedy as she was +cross, and when she saw all the riches spread +before her, she could not contain herself for joy. + +``Ho! Ho!'' cried she. ``Now I'll go and call on +the sparrow, and get a pretty present, too!'' + +She asked the old man the way to the sparrow's +house and set forth on her journey. And she +wandered on and on over mountain and valley, +and dale and river, until at last she saw the +tongue-cut sparrow. + +``Well met, well met, Mr. Sparrow,'' cried she. +``I have been looking forward with much pleasure +to seeing you.'' And then she tried to flatter it +with soft, sweet words. + +So the bird had to invite her to its nest-house, +but it did not feast her nor say anything about a +parting gift. At last the little old woman had to +go, and she asked for something to carry with her +to remember the visit by. The sparrow, as before, +brought out two wicker baskets. One was very +heavy and the other light. + +The greedy little old woman, choosing the +heavy one, carried it off with her. + +She hurried home as fast as she was able, and +closing her doors and windows so that no one +might see, opened the basket. And, lo and behold! +out jumped all sorts of wicked hobgoblins +and imps, and they scratched and pinched her to +death. + +As for the little old man he adopted a son, and +his family grew rich and prosperous. + + +THE QUAILS +A LEGEND OF THE JATAKA + +FROM THE RIVERSIDE FOURTH READER + +Ages ago a flock of more than a thousand quails +lived together in a forest in India. They would +have been happy, but that they were in great +dread of their enemy, the quail-catcher. He used +to imitate the call of the quail; and when they +gathered together in answer to it, he would throw +a great net over them, stuff them into his basket, +and carry them away to be sold. + +Now, one of the quails was very wise, and he +said:-- + +``Brothers! I've thought of a good plan. In +future, as soon as the fowler throws his net over +us, let each one put his head through a mesh in +the net and then all lift it up together and fly +away with it. When we have flown far enough, +we can let the net drop on a thorn bush and escape +from under it.'' + +All agreed to the plan; and next day when the +fowler threw his net, the birds all lifted it together +in the very way that the wise quail had +told them, threw it on a thorn bush and escaped. +While the fowler tried to free his net from the +thorns, it grew dark, and he had to go home. + +This happened many days, till at last the +fowler's wife grew angry and asked her husband:-- + +``Why is it that you never catch any more +quail?'' + +Then the fowler said: ``The trouble is that all +the birds work together and help one another. If +they would only quarrel, I could catch them fast +enough.'' + +A few days later, one of the quails accidentally +trod on the head of one of his brothers, as they +alighted on the feeding-ground. + +``Who trod on my head?'' angrily inquired the +quail who was hurt. + +``Don't be angry, I didn't mean to tread on +you,'' said the first quail. + +But the brother quail went on quarreling. + +``I lifted all the weight of the net; you didn't +help at all,'' he cried. + +That made the first quail angry, and before long +all were drawn into the dispute. Then the fowler +saw his chance. He imitated the cry of the quail +and cast his net over those who came together. +They were still boasting and quarreling, and they +did not help one another lift the net. So the +hunter lifted the net himself and crammed them +into his basket. But the wise quail gathered his +friends together and flew far away, for he knew +that quarrels are the root of misfortune. + + +THE MAGPIE'S NEST + +BY JOSEPH JACOBS + +All the birds of the air came to the magpie and +asked her to teach them how to build nests. For +the magpie is the cleverest bird of all at building +nests. So she put all the birds round her and +began to show them how to do it. First of all she +took some mud and made a sort of round cake +with it. + +``Oh, that's how it's done!'' said the thrush, +and away it flew; and so that's how thrushes build +their nests. + +Then the magpie took some twigs and arranged +them round in the mud. + +``Now I know all about it!'' said the blackbird, +and off it flew; and that's how the blackbirds +make their nests to this very day. + +Then the magpie put another layer of mud over +the twigs. + +``Oh, that 's quite obvious!'' said the wise owl, +and away it flew; and owls have never made +better nests since. + +After this the magpie took some twigs and +twined them round the outside. + +``The very thing!'' said the sparrow, and off he +went; so sparrows make rather slovenly nests to +this day. + +Well, then Madge magpie took some feathers +and stuff, and lined the nest very comfortably +with it. + +``That suits me!'' cried the starling, and off it +flew; and very comfortable nests have starlings. + +So it went on, every bird taking away some +knowledge of how to build nests, but none of them +waiting to the end. + +Meanwhile Madge magpie went on working +and working without looking up, till the only bird +that remained was the turtle-dove, and that +hadn't paid any attention all along, but only +kept on saying its silly cry: ``Take two, Taffy, +take two-o-o-o!'' + +At last the magpie heard this just as she was +putting a twig across, so she said: ``One's enough.'' + +But the turtle-dove kept on saying: ``Take +two, Taffy, take two-o-o-o!'' + +Then the magpie got angry and said: ``One's +enough, I tell you!'' + +Still the turtle-dove cried: ``Take two, Taffy, +take two-o-o-o!'' + +At last, and at last, the magpie looked up and +saw nobody near her but the silly turtle-dove, +and then she got rarely angry and flew away and +refused to tell the birds how to build nests again. + +And that is why different birds build their nests +differently. + + +THE GREEDY GEESE + +FROM IL LIBRO D'ORO (ADAPTED) + +Many years ago there was near the sea a convent +famed for the rich crops of grain that grew on its +farm. On a certain year a large flock of wild geese +descended on its fields and devoured first the +corn, and then the green blades. + +The superintendent of the farm hastened to +the convent and called the lady abbess. + +``Holy mother,'' said he, ``this year the nuns will +have to fast continually, for there will be no food.'' + +``Why is that?'' asked the abbess. + +``Because,'' answered the superintendent, ``a +flood of wild geese has rained upon the land, and +they have eaten up the corn, nor have they left a +single green blade.'' + +``Is it possible,'' said the abbess, ``that these +wicked birds have no respect for the property of +the convent! They shall do penance for their +misdeeds. Return at once to the fields, and order +the geese from me to come without delay to the +convent door, so that they may receive just punishment +for their greediness.'' + +``But, mother,'' said the superintendent, ``this +is not a time for jesting! These are not sheep to +be guided into the fold, but birds with long, strong +wings, to fly away with.'' + +``Do you understand me!'' answered the abbess. +``Go at once, and bid them come to me +without delay, and render an account of their +misdeeds.'' + +The superintendent ran back to the farm, and +found the flock of evildoers still there. He raised +his voice and clapping his hands, cried:-- + +``Come, come, ye greedy geese! The lady abbess +commands you to hasten to the convent +door!'' + +Wonderful sight! Hardly had he uttered these +words than the geese raised their necks as if to +listen, then, without spreading their wings, they +placed themselves in single file, and in regular +order began to march toward the convent. As +they proceeded they bowed their heads as if confessing +their fault and as though about to receive +punishment. + +Arriving at the convent, they entered the +courtyard in exact order, one behind the other, +and there awaited the coming of the abbess. All +night they stood thus without making a sound, as +if struck dumb by their guilty consciences. But +when morning came, they uttered the most pitiful +cries as though asking pardon and permission to +depart. + +Then the lady abbess, taking compassion on +the repentant birds, appeared with some nuns +upon a balcony. Long she talked to the geese, +asking them why they had stolen the convent +grain. She threatened them with a long fast, and +then, softening, began to offer them pardon if +they would never again attack her lands, nor eat +her corn. To which the geese bowed their heads +low in assent. Then the abbess gave them her +blessing and permission to depart. + +Hardly had she done so when the geese, spreading +their wings, made a joyous circle above the +convent towers, and flew away. Alighting at some +distance they counted their number and found +one missing. For, alas! in the night, when they +had been shut in the courtyard, the convent cook, +seeing how fat they were, had stolen one bird and +had killed, roasted, and eaten it. + +When the birds discovered that one of their +number was missing, they again took wing and, +hovering over the convent, they uttered mournful +cries, complaining of the loss of their comrade, +and imploring the abbess to return him to the +flock. + +Now, when the lady abbess heard these +melancholy pleas, she assembled her household, and +inquired of each member where the bird might be. +The cook, fearing that it might be already known +to her, confessed the theft, and begged for pardon. + +``You have been very audacious,'' said the +abbess, ``but at least collect the bones and bring +them to me.'' + +The cook did as directed, and the abbess at a +word caused the bones to come together and to +assume flesh, and afterwards feathers, and, lo! the +original bird rose up. + +The geese, having received their lost companion, +rejoiced loudly, and, beating their wings +gratefully, made many circles over the sacred +cloister, before they flew away. Neither did they +in future ever dare to place a foot on the lands of +the convent, nor to touch one blade of grass. + + +THE KING OF THE BIRDS + +BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM (TRANSLATED) + +One day the birds took it into their heads that +they would like a master, and that one of their +number must be chosen king. A meeting of all the +birds was called, and on a beautiful May morning +they assembled from woods and fields and meadows. +The eagle, the robin, the bluebird, the owl, +the lark, the sparrow were all there. The cuckoo +came, and the lapwing, and so did all the other +birds, too numerous to mention. There also came +a very little bird that had no name at all. + +There was great confusion and noise. There +was piping, hissing, chattering and clacking, and +finally it was decided that the bird that could fly +the highest should be king. + +The signal was given and all the birds flew in a +great flock into the air. There was a loud rustling +and whirring and beating of wings. The air was +full of dust, and it seemed as if a black cloud were +floating over the field. + +The little birds soon grew tired and fell back +quickly to earth. The larger ones held out longer, +and flew higher and higher, but the eagle flew +highest of any. He rose, and rose, until he seemed +to be flying straight into the sun. + +The other birds gave out and one by one they +fell back to earth; and when the eagle saw this +he thought, ``What is the use of flying any higher? +It is settled: I am king!'' + +Then the birds below called in one voice: +``Come back, come back! You must be our king! +No one can fly as high as you.'' + +``Except me!'' cried a shrill, shrill voice, and +the little bird without a name rose from the eagle's +back, where he had lain hidden in the feathers, +and he flew into the air. Higher and higher he +mounted till he was lost to sight, then, folding his +wings together, he sank to earth crying shrilly: ``I +am king! I am king!'' + +``You, our king!'' the birds cried in anger; +``you have done this by trickery and cunning. We +will not have you to reign over us.'' + +Then the birds gathered together again and +made another condition, that he should be king +who could go the deepest into the earth. + +How the goose wallowed in the sand, and the +duck strove to dig a hole! All the other birds, too, +tried to hide themselves in the ground. The little +bird without a name found a mouse's hole, and +creeping in cried:-- + +``I am king! I am king!'' + +``You, our king!'' all the birds cried again, +more angrily than before. ``Do you think that we +would reward your cunning in this way? No, no! +You shall stay in the earth till you die of hunger!'' + +So they shut up the little bird in the mouse's +hole, and bade the owl watch him carefully night +and day. Then all the birds went home to bed, +for they were very tired; but the owl found it +lonely and wearisome sitting alone staring at the +mouse's hole. + +``I can close one eye and watch with the other,'' +he thought. So he closed one eye and stared +steadfastly with the other; but before he knew it +he forgot to keep that one open, and both eyes +were fast asleep. + +Then the little bird without a name peeped out, +and when he saw Master Owl's two eyes tight +shut, he slipped from the hole and flew away. + +From this time on the owl has not dared to +show himself by day lest the birds should pull him +to pieces. He flies about only at night-time, hating +and pursuing the mouse for having made the +hole into which the little bird crept. + +And the little bird also keeps out of sight, for he +fears lest the other birds should punish him for +his cunning. He hides in the hedges, and when he +thinks himself quite safe, he sings out: ``I am +king! I am king!'' + +And the other birds in mockery call out: ``Yes, +yes, the hedge-king! the hedge-king!'' + + +THE DOVE WHO SPOKE TRUTH + +BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN + +The dove and the wrinkled little bat once went on +a journey together. When it came toward night +a storm arose, and the two companions sought +everywhere for a shelter. But all the birds were +sound asleep in their nests and the animals in their +holes and dens. They could find no welcome +anywhere until they came to the hollow tree +where old Master Owl lived, wide awake in the +dark. + +``Let us knock here,'' said the shrewd bat; ``I +know the old fellow is not asleep. This is his +prowling hour, and but that it is a stormy night +he would be abroad hunting.--What ho, Master +Owl!'' he squeaked, ``will you let in two storm- +tossed travelers for a night's lodging?'' + +Gruffly the selfish old owl bade them enter, and +grudgingly invited them to share his supper. The +poor dove was so tired that she could scarcely eat, +but the greedy bat's spirits rose as soon as he saw +the viands spread before him. He was a sly fellow, +and immediately began to flatter his host into +good humor. He praised the owl's wisdom and his +courage, his gallantry and his generosity; though +every one knew that however wise old Master Owl +might be, he was neither brave nor gallant. As for +his generosity--both the dove and the bat well +remembered his selfishness toward the poor wren, +when the owl alone of all the birds refused to give +the little fire-bringer a feather to help cover his +scorched and shivering body. + +All this flattery pleased the owl. He puffed and +ruffled himself, trying to look as wise, gallant, and +brave as possible. He pressed the bat to help +himself more generously to the viands, which +invitation the sly fellow was not slow to accept. + +During this time the dove had not uttered a +word. She sat quite still staring at the bat, and +wondering to hear such insincere speeches of +flattery. Suddenly the owl turned to her. + +``As for you, Miss Pink-Eyes,'' he said gruffly, +``you keep careful silence. You are a dull table- +companion. Pray, have you nothing to say for +yourself?'' + +``Yes,'' exclaimed the mischievous bat; ``have +you no words of praise for our kind host? Methinks +he deserves some return for this wonderfully +generous, agreeable, tasteful, well-appointed, +luxurious, elegant, and altogether acceptable +banquet. What have you to say, O little dove?'' + +But the dove hung her head, ashamed of her +companion, and said very simply: ``O Master +Owl, I can only thank you with all my heart for +the hospitality and shelter which you have given +me this night. I was beaten by the storm, and +you took me in. I was hungry, and you gave me +your best to eat. I cannot flatter nor make pretty +speeches like the bat. I never learned such +manners. But I thank you.'' + +``What!'' cried the bat, pretending to be +shocked, ``is that all you have to say to our +obliging host? Is he not the wisest, bravest, most +gallant and generous of gentlemen? Have you no +praise for his noble character as well as for his +goodness to us? I am ashamed of you! You do +not deserve such hospitality. You do not deserve +this shelter.'' + +The dove remained silent. Like Cordelia in the +play she could not speak untruths even for her +own happiness. + +``Truly, you are an unamiable guest,'' snarled +the owl, his yellow eyes growing keen and fierce +with anger and mortified pride. ``You are an +ungrateful bird, Miss, and the bat is right. You +do not deserve this generous hospitality which I +have offered, this goodly shelter which you asked. +Away with you! Leave my dwelling! Pack off +into the storm and see whether or not your silence +will soothe the rain and the wind. Be off, I say!'' + +``Yes, away with her!'' echoed the bat, flapping +his leathery wings. + +And the two heartless creatures fell upon the +poor little dove and drove her out into the dark +and stormy night. + +Poor little dove! All night she was tossed and +beaten about shelterless in the storm, because she +had been too truthful to flatter the vain old owl. +But when the bright morning dawned, draggled +and weary as she was, she flew to the court of +King Eagle and told him all her trouble. Great +was the indignation of that noble bird. + +``For his flattery and his cruelty let the bat +never presume to fly abroad until the sun goes +down,'' he cried. ``As for the owl, I have already +doomed him to this punishment for his treatment +of the wren. But henceforth let no bird have anything +to do with either of them, the bat or the owl. +Let them be outcasts and night-prowlers, enemies +to be attacked and punished if they appear +among us, to be avoided by all in their loneliness. +Flattery and inhospitality, deceit and cruelty,-- +what are more hideous than these? Let them +cover themselves in darkness and shun the happy +light of day. + +``As for you, little dove, let this be a lesson to +you to shun the company of flatterers, who are +sure to get you into trouble. But you shall +always be loved for your simplicity and truth. And +as a token of our affection your name shall be +used by poets as long as the world shall last to +rhyme with LOVE.'' + + +THE BUSY BLUE JAY + +BY OLIVE THORNE MILLER (ADAPTED) + +One of the most interesting birds who ever lived +in my Bird Room was a blue jay named Jakie. +He was full of business from morning till night, +scarcely ever a moment still. + +Poor little fellow! He had been stolen from the +nest before he could fly, and reared in a house, +long before he was given to me. Of course he +could not be set free, for he did not know how to +take care of himself. + +Jays are very active birds, and being shut up in +a room, my blue jay had to find things to do, to +keep himself busy. If he had been allowed to +grow up out of doors, he would have found plenty +to do, planting acorns and nuts, nesting, and +bringing up families. + +Sometimes the things he did in the house were +what we call mischief because they annoy us, such +as hammering the woodwork to pieces, tearing +bits out of the leaves of books, working holes +in chair seats, or pounding a cardboard box to +pieces. But how is a poor little bird to know what +is mischief? + +Many things which Jakie did were very funny. +For instance, he made it his business to clear up +the room. When he had more food than he could +eat at the moment, he did not leave it around, but +put it away carefully,--not in the garbage pail, +for that was not in the room, but in some safe +nook where it did not offend the eye. Sometimes +it was behind the tray in his cage, or among the +books on the shelf. The places he liked best were +about me,--in the fold of a ruffle or the loop of a +bow on my dress, and sometimes in the side of my +slipper. The very choicest place of all was in my +loosely bound hair. That, of course, I could not +allow, and I had to keep very close watch of him, +for fear I might have a bit of bread or meat thrust +among my locks. + +In his clearing up he always went carefully over +the floor, picking up pins, or any little thing he +could find, and I often dropped burnt matches, +buttons, and other small things to give him something +to do. These he would pick up and put +nicely away. + +Pins Jakie took lengthwise in his beak, and at +first I thought he had swallowed them, till I saw +him hunt up a proper place to hide them. The +place he chose was between the leaves of a book. +He would push a pin far in out of sight, and then +go after another. A match he always tried to put +in a crack, under the baseboard, between the +breadths of matting, or under my rockers. He +first placed it, and then tried to hammer it in out +of sight. He could seldom get it in far enough to +suit him, and this worried him. Then he would +take it out and try another place. + +Once the blue jay found a good match, of the +parlor match variety. He put it between the +breadths of matting, and then began to pound on +it as usual. Pretty soon he hit the unburnt end +and it went off with a loud crack, as parlor +matches do. Poor Jakie jumped two feet into the +air, nearly frightened out of his wits; and I was +frightened, too, for I feared he might set the +house on fire. + +Often when I got up from my chair a shower of +the bird's playthings would fall from his various +hiding-places about my dress,--nails, matches, +shoe-buttons, bread-crumbs, and other things. +Then he had to begin his work all over again. + +Jakie liked a small ball or a marble. His game +was to give it a hard peck and see it roll. If it +rolled away from him, he ran after it and pecked +again; but sometimes it rolled toward him, and +then he bounded into the air as if he thought it +would bite. And what was funny, he was always +offended at this conduct of the ball, and went off +sulky for a while. + + +He was a timid little fellow. Wind or storm +outside the windows made him wild. He would +fly around the room, squawking at the top of his +voice; and the horrible tin horns the boys liked to +blow at Thanksgiving and Christmas drove him +frantic. + +Once I brought a Christmas tree into the room +to please the birds, and all were delighted with it +except my poor little blue jay, who was much +afraid of it. Think of the sadness of a bird being +afraid of a tree! + + +II + + +Jakie had decided opinions about people who +came into the room to see me, or to see the birds. +At some persons he would squawk every moment. +Others he saluted with a queer cry like ``Ob-ble! +ob-ble! ob-ble!'' Once when a lady came in with a +baby, he fixed his eyes on that infant with a savage +look as if he would like to peck it, and jumped +back and forth in his cage, panting but perfectly +silent. + +Jakie was very devoted to me. He always +greeted me with a low, sweet chatter, with wings +quivering, and, if he were out of the cage, he +would come on the back of my chair and touch +my cheek or lips very gently with his beak, or +offer me a bit of food if he had any; and to me +alone when no one else was near, he sang a low, +exquisite song. I afterwards heard a similar song +sung by a wild blue jay to his mate while she was +sitting, and so I knew that my dear little captive +had given me his sweetest--his love-song. + +One of Jakie's amusements was dancing across +the back of a tall chair, taking funny little steps, +coming down hard, ``jouncing'' his body, and +whistling as loud as he could. He would keep up +this funny performance as long as anybody would +stand before him and pretend to dance too. + +My jay was fond of a sensation. One of his +dearest bits of fun was to drive the birds into a +panic. This he did by flying furiously around the +room, feathers rustling, and squawking as loud as +he could. He usually managed to fly just over the +head of each bird, and as he came like a catapult, +every one flew before him, so that in a minute the +room was full of birds flying madly about, trying +to get out of his way. This gave him great +pleasure. + +Once a grasshopper got into the Bird Room, +probably brought in clinging to some one's dress +in the way grasshoppers do. Jakie was in his cage, +but he noticed the stranger instantly, and I +opened the door for him. He went at once to look +at the grasshopper, and when it hopped he was so +startled that he hopped too. Then he picked the +insect up, but he did not know what to do with it, +so he dropped it again. Again the grasshopper +jumped directly up, and again the jay did the +same. This they did over and over, till every one +was tired laughing at them. It looked as if they +were trying to see who could jump the highest. + +There was another bird in the room, however, +who knew what grasshoppers were good for. He +was an orchard oriole, and after looking on awhile, +he came down and carried off the hopper to eat. +The jay did not like to lose his plaything; he ran +after the thief, and stood on the floor giving low +cries and looking on while the oriole on a chair +was eating the dead grasshopper. When the oriole +happened to drop it, Jakie,--who had got a new +idea what to do with grasshoppers,--snatched it +up and carried it under a chair and finished it. + +I could tell many more stories about my bird, +but I have told them before in one of my ``grown-up'' +books, so I will not repeat them here. + + +BABES IN THE WOODS + +BY JOHN BURROUGHS + +One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition +to the Shattega, a still, dark, deep stream +that loiters silently through the woods not far +from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were on +the alert for any bit of wild life of bird or beast +that might turn up. + +There were so many abandoned woodpecker +chambers in the small dead trees as we went along +that I determined to secure the section of a tree +containing a good one to take home and put up +for the bluebirds. ``Why don't the bluebirds occupy +them here?'' inquired Ted. ``Oh,'' I replied, +``blue birds do not come so far into the woods as +this. They prefer nesting-places in the open, and +near human habitations.'' After carefully scrutinizing +several of the trees, we at last saw one that +seemed to fill the bill. It was a small dead tree- +trunk seven or eight inches in diameter, that +leaned out over the water, and from which the top +had been broken. The hole, round and firm, was +ten or twelve feet above us. After considerable +effort I succeeded in breaking the stub off near +the ground, and brought it down into the boat. + +``Just the thing,'' I said; ``surely the bluebirds +will prefer this to an artificial box.'' But, lo and +behold, it already had bluebirds in it! We had not +heard a sound or seen a feather till the trunk was +in our hands, when, on peering into the cavity, we +discovered two young bluebirds about half grown. +This was a predicament indeed! + +Well, the only thing we could do was to stand +the tree-trunk up again as well as we could, and +as near as we could to where it had stood before. +This was no easy thing. But after a time we had +it fairly well replaced, one end standing in the +mud of the shallow water and the other resting +against a tree. This left the hole to the nest about +ten feet below and to one side of its former position. +Just then we heard the voice of one of the +parent birds, and we quickly paddled to the other +side of the stream, fifty feet away, to watch her +proceedings, saying to each other, ``Too bad! too +bad!'' The mother bird had a large beetle in her +beak. She alighted upon a limb a few feet above +the former site of her nest, looked down upon us, +uttered a note or two, and then dropped down +confidently to the point in the vacant air where +the entrance to her nest had been but a few +moments before. Here she hovered on the wing a +second or two, looking for something that was not +there, and then returned to the perch she had just +left, apparently not a little disturbed. She hammered +the beetle rather excitedly upon the limb +a few times, as if it were in some way at fault, +then dropped down to try for her nest again. +Only vacant air there! She hovers and hovers, +her blue wings flickering in the checkered light; +surely that precious hole MUST be there; but no, +again she is baffled, and again she returns to her +perch, and mauls the poor beetle till it must be +reduced to a pulp. Then she makes a third +attempt, then a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth, +till she becomes very much excited. ``What could +have happened? Am I dreaming? Has that beetle +hoodooed me?'' she seems to say, and in her dismay +she lets the bug drop, and looks bewilderedly +about her. Then she flies away through the +woods, calling. ``Going for her mate,'' I said to +Ted. ``She is in deep trouble, and she wants +sympathy and help.'' + +In a few minutes we heard her mate answer, +and presently the two birds came hurrying to the +spot, both with loaded beaks. They perched upon +the familiar limb above the site of the nest, and +the mate seemed to say, ``My dear, what has +happened to you? I can find that nest.'' And he +dived down, and brought up in the empty air just +as the mother had done. How he winnowed it +with his eager wings! How he seemed to bear on +to that blank space! His mate sat regarding him +intently, confident, I think, that he would find +the clue. But he did not. Baffled and excited, he +returned to the perch beside her. Then she tried +again, then he rushed down once more, then they +both assaulted the place, but it would not give up +its secret. They talked, they encouraged each +other, and they kept up the search, now one, now +the other, now both together. Sometimes they +dropped down to within a few feet of the entrance +to the nest, and we thought they would surely +find it. No, their minds and eyes were intent only +upon that square foot of space where the nest had +been. Soon they withdrew to a large limb many +feet higher up, and seemed to say to themselves, + +``Well, it is not there, but it must be here +somewhere; let us look about.'' A few minutes elapsed, +when we saw the mother bird spring from her +perch and go straight as an arrow to the nest. Her +maternal eye had proved the quicker. She had +found her young. Something like reason and +common sense had come to her rescue; she had +taken time to look about, and behold! there was +that precious doorway. She thrust her head into +it, then sent back a call to her mate, then went +farther in, then withdrew. ``Yes, it is true, they +are here, they are here!'' Then she went in again, +gave them the food in her beak, and then gave +place to her mate, who, after similar demonstrations +of joy, also gave them his morsel. + +Ted and I breathed freer. A burden had been +taken from our minds and hearts, and we went +cheerfully on our way. We had learned something, +too; we had learned that when in the deep +woods you think of bluebirds, bluebirds may be +nearer you than you think. + + +THE PRIDE OF THE REGIMENT + +BY HARRY M. KIEFFER (ADAPTED) + +``Old Abe'' was the war-eagle of the Eighth +Wisconsin Volunteers. Whoever it may have +been that first conceived the idea, it was certainly +a happy thought to make a pet of an eagle. For +the eagle is our national bird, and to carry an +eagle along with the colors of a regiment on the +march, and in battle, and all through the whole +war, was surely very appropriate, indeed. + +``Old Abe's'' perch was on a shield, which was +carried by a soldier, to whom, and to whom alone, +he looked as to a master. He would not allow any +one to carry or even to handle him, except this +soldier, nor would he ever receive his food from +any other person's hands. He seemed to have +sense enough to know that he was sometimes a +burden to his master on the march, however, and, +as if to relieve him, would occasionally spread his +wings and soar aloft to a great height, the men of +all regiments along the line of march cheering him +as he went up. + +He regularly received his rations from the +commissary, like any enlisted man. Whenever +fresh meat was scarce, and none could be found +for him by foraging parties, he would take things +into his own claws, as it were, and go out on a +foraging expedition himself. On some such +occasions he would be gone two or three days at a +time, during which nothing whatever was seen of +him; but he would invariably return, and seldom +would come back without a young lamb or a +chicken in his talons. His long absences occasioned +his regiment not the slightest concern, for the men +knew that, though he might fly many miles away +in quest of food, he would be quite sure to find +them again. + +In what way he distinguished the two hostile +armies so accurately that he was never once +known to mistake the gray for the blue, no one +can tell. But so it was, that he was never known +to alight save in his own camp, and amongst his +own men. + +At Jackson, Mississippi, during the hottest part +of the battle before that city, ``Old Abe'' soared +up into the air, and remained there from early +morning until the fight closed at night, no doubt +greatly enjoying his bird's-eye view of the battle. +He did the same at Mission Ridge. He was, I +believe, struck by Confederate bullets two or +three times, but his feathers were so thick that +his body was not much hurt. The shield on which +he was carried, however, showed so many marks +of Confederate balls that it looked on top as if a +groove plane had been run over it. + +At the Centenial celebration held in +Philadelphia, in 1876, ``Old Abe'' occupied a prominent +place on his perch on the west side of the nave +in the Agricultural Building. He was evidently +growing old, and was the observed of all +observers. Thousands of visitors, from all sections +of the country, paid their respects to the grand +old bird, who, apparently conscious of the honors +conferred upon him, overlooked the sale of his +biography and photographs going on beneath his +perch with entire satisfaction. + +As was but just and right, the soldier who had +carried him during the war continued to have +charge of him after the war was over, until the +day of his death, which occurred at the capital of +Wisconsin, in 1881. + + +THE MOTHER MURRE + +BY DALLAS LORE SHARP + +One of the most striking cases of mother-love +which has ever come under my observation, I saw +in the summer of 1912 on the bird rookeries of +the Three-Arch Rocks Reservation off the coast +of Oregon. + +We were making our slow way toward the top +of the outer rock. Through rookery after rookery +of birds, we climbed until we reached the edge of +the summit. Scrambling over this edge, we found +ourselves in the midst of a great colony of nesting +murres--hundreds of them--covering this steep +rocky part of the top. + +As our heads appeared above the rim, many of +the colony took wing and whirred over us out to +sea, but most of them sat close, each bird upon its +egg or over its chick, loath to leave, and so expose +to us the hidden treasure. + +The top of the rock was somewhat cone-shaped, +and in order to reach the peak and the colonies on +the west side we had to make our way through +this rookery of the murres. The first step among +them, and the whole colony was gone, with a rush +of wings and feet that sent several of the top- +shaped eggs rolling, and several of the young birds +toppling over the cliff to the pounding waves and +ledges far below. + +We stopped, but the colony, almost to a bird, +had bolted, leaving scores of eggs, and scores of +downy young squealing and running together for +shelter, like so many beetles under a lifted board. + +But the birds had not every one bolted, for here +sat two of the colony among the broken rocks. +These two had not been frightened off. That both +of them were greatly alarmed, any one could see +from their open beaks, their rolling eyes, their +tense bodies on tiptoe for flight. Yet here they +sat, their wings out like props, or more like gripping +hands, as if they were trying to hold themselves +down to the rocks against their wild desire +to fly. + +And so they were, in truth, for under their +extended wings I saw little black feet moving. +Those two mother murres were not going to +forsake their babies! No, not even for these +approaching monsters, such as they had never +before seen, clambering over their rocks. + +What was different about these two? They had +their young ones to protect. Yes, but so had +every bird in the great colony its young one, or its +egg, to protect, yet all the others had gone. Did +these two have more mother-love than the +others? And hence, more courage, more intelligence? + +We took another step toward them, and one of +the two birds sprang into the air, knocking her +baby over and over with the stroke of her wing, +and coming within an inch of hurling it across the +rim to be battered on the ledges below. The other +bird raised her wings to follow, then clapped them +back over her baby. Fear is the most contagious +thing in the world; and that flap of fear by the +other bird thrilled her, too, but as she had +withstood the stampede of the colony, so she caught +herself again and held on. + +She was now alone on the bare top of the rock, +with ten thousand circling birds screaming to her +in the air above, and with two men creeping up to +her with a big black camera that clicked ominously. +She let the multitude scream, and with +threatening beak watched the two men come on. +A motherless baby, spying her, ran down the rock +squealing for his life. She spread a wing, put her +bill behind him and shoved him quickly in out of +sight with her own baby. The man with the +camera saw the act, for I heard his machine click, +and I heard him say something under his breath +that you would hardly expect a mere man and a +game-warden to say. But most men have a good +deal of the mother in them; and the old bird +had acted with such decision, such courage, such +swift, compelling instinct, that any man, short +of the wildest savage, would have felt his heart +quicken at the sight. + +``Just how compelling might that mother- +instinct be?'' I wondered. ``Just how much +would that mother-love stand?'' I had dropped +to my knees, and on all fours had crept up within +about three feet of the bird. She still had chance +for flight. Would she allow me to crawl any +nearer? Slowly, very slowly, I stretched forward +on my hands, like a measuring-worm, until my +body lay flat on the rocks, and my fingers were +within three INCHES of her. But her wings were +twitching, a wild light danced in her eyes, and her +head turned toward the sea. + +For a whole minute I did not stir. I was +watching--and the wings again began to tighten about +the babies, the wild light in the eyes died down, +the long, sharp beak turned once more toward me. + +Then slowly, very slowly, I raised my hand, +touched her feathers with the tip of one finger-- +with two fingers--with my whole hand, while +the loud camera click-clacked, click-clacked +hardly four feet away! + +It was a thrilling moment. I was not killing +anything. I had no long-range rifle in my hands, +coming up against the wind toward an unsuspecting +creature hundreds of yards away. This was no +wounded leopard charging me; no mother-bear +defending with her giant might a captured cub. It +was only a mother-bird, the size of a wild duck, +with swift wings at her command, hiding under +those wings her own and another's young, and +her own boundless fear! + +For the second time in my life I had taken +captive with my bare hands a free wild bird. No, +I had not taken her captive. She had made herself +a captive; she had taken herself in the strong net +of her mother-love. + +And now her terror seemed quite gone. At the +first touch of my hand I think she felt the love +restraining it, and without fear or fret she let me +reach under her and pull out the babies. But she +reached after them with her bill to tuck them +back out of sight, and when I did not let them go, +she sidled toward me, quacking softly, a language +that I perfectly understood, and was quick to +respond to. I gave them back, fuzzy and black +and white. She got them under her, stood up over +them, pushed her wings down hard around them, +her stout tail down hard behind them, and +together with them pushed in an abandoned egg +that was close at hand. Her own baby, some one +else's baby, and some one else's forsaken egg! She +could cover no more; she had not feathers enough. +But she had heart enough; and into her mother's +heart she had already tucked every motherless +egg and nestling of the thousands of frightened +birds, screaming and wheeling in the air high over +her head. + + +THE END + + + +REFERENCE LISTS +FOR STORY-TELLING AND COLLATERAL +READING + + +REFERENCE LISTS +FOR STORY-TELLING AND COLLATERAL +READING + + +(The grades assigned are merely suggestive, as some of the stories +may be used in higher or lower grades than here indicated.) + + +NEW YEAR'S DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +An All-the-Year-Round Story, in Poulsson, In the Child's +World; Peter the Stone-Cutter, in Macdonell, Italian +Fairy Book; The Forest Full of Friends, in Alden, Why the +Chimes Rang. + + +For grades 5-8. + +A Chinese New Year's in California, in Our Holidays +Retold from St. Nicholas; A New Year's Talk, in Stevenson, +Days and Deeds (prose); Story of the Year, in Andersen, +Stories and Tales; The Animals' New Year's Eve, in Lagerlof, +Further Adventures of Nils. + + + +LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY + +For grades 1-4. + +A Westfield Incident, in Moores, Abraham Lincoln, page +87; Lincoln and the Little Horse, in Werner's Readings, no. +46; Lincoln and the Pig, in Gross, Lincoln's Own Stories; +Lincoln and the Small Dog, in Moores, Aoraham Lincoln, +page 25. + +For grades 5-6. + +A Backwoods Boyhood, in Moores, Abraham Lincoln; +Choosing Abe Lincoln Captain, in Schauffler, Lincoln's +Birthday; Following the Surveyor's Chain, in Baldwin, +Abraham Lincoln; His Good Memory of Names, in Gallaher, +Best Lincoln Stories; Lincoln and the Doorkeeper, in Gross, + +Lincoln's Own Stories, page 78, Lincoln and the Unjust Client, +in Moores, Abraham Lincoln, page 46; Lincoln's Kindness to +a Disabled Soldier, in Gallaher, Best Lincoln Stories; The +Clary's Grove Boys, in Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln page +51; The Snow Boys, in Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln page +122. + +For grades 7-8. + +Counsel Assigned, Andrews; He Knew lincoln, Tarbell; +Lincoln and the Sleeping Senhnel, Chittenden; Lincoln +Remembered Him, in Gallaher, Best Lincoln Stories; Lincoln's +Springfield Farewell, in Moores, Abraham lincoln, page 82; +Perfect Tribute, Andrews. + + +SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +A Sunday Valentine, in White, When Molly was Six; +Beauty and the Beast, in Lang, Blue Fairy Book, East of the +Sun and West of the Moon, in Lang, Blue Fairy Book; The +Fair One With Golden Locks, in Scudder, Children's Book; +The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, in Scudder, Children's +Book; The Valentine (poem), in Brown, Fresh Posies. + +For grades 5-6. + +Gracieuse and Percinet, in D'Aulnoy, Fairy Tales; Jorinda +and Joringel, in Grimm, German Household Tales; The Day- +Dream, Tennyson (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The +Singing, Soaring Lark, in Grimm, German Household Tales +William and the Werewolf, in Darton, Wonder Book of Old +Romance. + +For grades 7-8. + +As You Like It, Shakespeare; Brunhild, in Baldwin, Story +of Siegfried; Floris and Blanchefleur, in Darton, Wonder +Book of Old Romance; Palamon and Arcita, in Darton, Tales +of the Canterbury Pilgrims; The Fair Maid of Perth, Scott, +chapters 2-6; The Singing Leaves, Lowell (poem); The +Tempest, Shakespeare. + + +WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY + +For grades 1-4. + +Little George Washington, and Great George Washington, +in Wiggin and Smith, Story Hour; The Virginia Boy, in +Wilson, Nature Study, Second Reader. + +For grades 54. + +A Christmas Surprise, in Tappan, American Hero Stories +Dolly Madison, in Tappan, American Hero Stories; Going +to Sea, in Scudder, George Washinyton, page 33; How George +Washington was Made Commander-in-Chief, in Tomlinson, +War for Independence; The Home of Washington, and +The Appearance of the Enemy, in Madison, Peggy Owen at +Yorktown; Young Washington in the Woods, in Eggleston, +Strange Stories from History. + +For grades 7-8. + +Anecdotes and Stories, in Schauffler, Washington's Birthday; +He Resigns his Commission, in Lodge, George Washington, +vol. I, page 338; The British at Mount Vernon, in Lodge, +George Washington, vol. I, page 295; The Young Surveyor, +in Scudder, George Washington; Washington Offered the +Supreme Power, in Lodge, George Washington, vol. I, page 328; +Washington's Farewell to His Officers, in Lodge, George +Washington, vol. I, page 387. + + +RESURRECTION DAY (EASTER) + +For grades 1-4. + +Easter Eggs, von Schmid; The Boy Who Discovered the +Spring, in Alden, Why the Chimes Rang; Herr Oster Hase, +in Bailey and Lewis, For the Children's Hour; The Legend +of Easter Eggs, O'Brien (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The +Rabbit's Ransom, Vawter; The White Hare, in Stevenson, +Days and Deeds (prose). + +For grades 5-8. + +Easter, Gilder (poem); The General's Easter Box, in Our +Holidays Retold from St. Nicholas; The Trinity Flower, +Ewing; What Easter is, in Stevenson, Days and Deeds (prose). + + + +MAY DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +A Story of the Springtime, in Kupfer, Legends of Greeee +and Rome; How the Water Lily Came, in Judd, Wigwam +Stories; The Brook in the King's Garden, in Alden, Why the +Chimes Rang; The Legend of the Dandelion, in Bailey and +Lewis, For the Children's Hour; The Lilac Bush, in Riverside +Fourth Reader; The Maple Leaf and the Violet, in +Wiggin and Smith, Story Flour; The Story of the Anemone +in Coe, First Book of Stories for the Story-Teller; The Story +of the First Butterflies, in Holbrook, Book of Nature Myths; +The Story of the First Snowdrops, in Holbrook, Book of Nature +Myths; The Story of the Rainbow, in Coe, First Book +of Stories for the Story-Teller; Two Little Seeds, in MacDonald, +David Elginbrod, chapter, ``The Cave in the Straw; +``Why the Morning-Glory Climbs, in Bryant, How to Tell +Stories to Children. + +For grades 5-6. + +Ladders to Heaven, Ewing; The Daisy, in Andersen, +Wonder Stories; Five out of One Shell, in Andersen, Stories and +Tales; The Pomegranate Seeds, in Hawthorne, Tanglewood +Tales. + +For grades 7-8. + +The May-Pole at Merry Mount, in Hawthorne, Twice- +Told Tales; The Opening of the Eyes of Jasper, in Dyer +The Richer Life; The Prisoner and the Flower, in Stevenson, +Days and Deeds (prose). + + +MOTHERS' DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +Hans and the Wonderful Flower, in Bailey and Lewis +For the Children's Hour; The Closing Door, in Lindsay +Mother Stories; The Laughter of a Samurai, in Nixon-Roulet, +Japanese Folk-Stories; The Fairy Who Came to our +House, in Bailey and Lewis, For the wrhildren's Hour; The +Little Traveler, in Lindsay, Mother Stories; Thorwald and +the Star-Children, in Boyesen, Modern Vikings. + +For grades 5-6. + +Lincoln's Letter to a Mother, in Moores, Abraham Lincoln, +page 105; My Angel Mother, in Baldwin, Abraham +Lincoln; Napoleon and the English Sailor Boy, Campbell +(poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Song of the Old Mother, +Yeats (poem), in Riverside Eighth Reader; Valentine and +Ursine (poem), in Lanier, Boy's Perey. + +For grades 7-8. + +A Patriot Mother, in Tomlinson, War for Independence; +Lincoln's Letter, in Gross, Lincoln's Own Stories; President +for One Hour, in St. Nicholas Christmas Book; The Conqueror's +Grave, Bryant (poem); The Gracci, in Morris, +Historical Tales (Roman); The Knight's Toast attributed to +Scott (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; Young Manhood, in +Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln. + + +MEMORIAL AND FLAG DAYS + +For grades 3-6. + +A Boy Who Won the Cross, in Hart and Stevens, Romance +of the Civil War; A Story of the Flag, in Our Holidays Retold +from St. Nicholas; Betsy's Battle Flag, Irving (poem), in +Stevenson, Poems of Ameriean History; Noteworthy Flag Incidents, +in Smith, Our Nation's Flag; The Legs of Duncan +Ketcham, in Price, Lads and Lassies of Other Days; The +Origin of Memorial Day, in Stevenson, Days and Deeds (prose); +The Planting of the Colors, in Thomas, Captain Phil, page +227. + +For grades 7-8. + +Kearny at Seven Pines, Stedman (poem); Quivira, Guiterman +(poem), in Story-Telling Poems; Reading the List, in +Sehauffler, Memorial Day; Remember the Alamo, in Lodge +and Roosevelt, Hero Tales, Reuben James, Roche, (poem), in +Story-Telling Poems; The Defense of the Alamo, Miller +(poem), in Stevenson, Poems of American History; The Fire +Rekindled, in Schauffler, Memorial Day; The Flag-Bearer, +in Lodge and Roosevelt, Hero Tales; The March of the First +Brigade, in Riverside Eighth Reader. + + + +INDEPENDENCE DAY + +For grades S-6. + +A Winter at Valley Forge, in Tappan, American Hero +Stories; Cornwallis's Buckles, in Revolutionary Stories Retold +from St. Nicholas; Ethan Allen, in Johonnot, Stories of +Heroic Deeds; Fourth of July Among the Indians, in Indian +Stories Retold from St. Nicholas; How ``Mad Anthony'' +Took Stony Point, in Tappan, American Hero Stories; How +the ``Swamp Fox'' Made the British Miserable, in Tappan, +American Hero Stories; John Paul Jones, in Tappan, American +Hero Stories; Laetitia and the Redcoats, in Revolutionary +Stories Retold from St. Nicholas; Molly Pitcher, in +Revolutionary Stories Retold from St. Nicholas; Paul Revere's Ride +Longfellow (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; Prescott and the +Yankee Boy, in Johonnot, Stories of Heroic Deeds; Rodney's +Ride, Brooks (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Boston +Massacre, in Hawthorne, Grandfather's Chair; The Bulb of +the Crimson Tulip, in Revolutionary Stories Retold from St +Nicholas; The First Day of the Revolution, in Tappan; +American Hero Stories. + +For grades 7-8. + +A Woman's Heroism, in Tomlinson, Warfor Independence; +Grandmother's Story of Bunker-Hill Battle, Holmes (poem); +How the Major Joined Marion's Men, in Tomlinson, War for +Independence; Molly Pitcher, Sherwood (poem), in Stevenson, +Poems of American History; Patrick Henry, in Morris +Historical Tales, American, Second Series; Song of Marion's +Men, Bryant (poem); That Bunker Hill Powder, in Revolutionary +Stories Retold from St. Nicholas; The Mantle of St. +John de Matha, Whittier (poem); The Tory's Farewell, in +Hawthorne, Grandfather's Chair. + + + +LABOR DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +Dust Under the Rug, in Lindsay, Mother Stories, Giant +Energy and Fairy Skill, in Lindsay, Mother Stories; How +Flax was Given to Men, in Holbrook, Book of Nature Myths; +My Friend the Housekeeper, in Riverside Fourth Reader, + +Peasant Truth, in Riverside Third Reader; Prometheus, the +Giver of Fire in Coe, First Book of Stories for the Story- +Teller; Six Soidiers of Fortune, in Grimm, German Household +Tales; The Country Maid and her Milk-Pail, in Scudder, +Book of Fables and Folk-Stories; The Flax, in Andersen, +Wonder Stories; The Hammer and the Anvil, in Ramaswami +Raju, Indian Fables; The Honest Woodman, in Poulsson, +In the Child's World; The Little Gray Pony, in Lindsay, +Mother Stories; The Little House in the Wood, in Grimm, +German Household Tales; The Old Man Who Lived in a +Wood (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Pixy Flower, in +Rhys, Fairy-Gold; The Spandies, in Gilchrist, Helen and the +Uninvited Guests, page 15; The Three Trades, in Grimm, +German Household Tales; The Toy of the Giant's Child, von +Chamisso (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; Vegetable Lambs, +in Curtis, Story of Cotton; Vulcan the Mighty Smith, in +Poulsson, In the Child's World. + +For grades 5-6. +A Handful of Clay, in Riverside Sixth Reader; How they +Built the Ship Argo in Iolcos, in Kingsley, Greek Heroes; +Icarus and DEedalus, in Peabody, Old Greek Folk-Stones; +Master of All Masters, in Jacobs, English Fairy Tales; The +Dwarf's Gifts, in Brown, In the Days of Giants; The Forging +of Balmung, in Baldwin, Hero Tales; The Giant Builder, +in Brown, In the Days of Giants; The God of Fire, in +Francillon, Gods and Heroes; The Wicked Hornet, in Baldwin, +The Sampo; The Wish-Ring, in Fairy Stories Retold from St. +Nicholas; The Wounds of Labor, in d'Amicis, Heart (Cuore); +Weland's Sword, in Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill. + +For grades 74. +Careers of Danger and Daring, Moffett; David Maydole, +Hammer-Maker, in Riverside Seventh Reader; Jack Farley's +Flying Switch, in Warman, Short Rails; Histories of Two +Boys, in Riverside Seventh Reader; History of Labor Day, +in Stevenson, Days and Deeds (prose); The Arms of Aeneas, +in Church, Stories from Virgil; The Blacksmith Boy and the +Battle, in Marden, Winning Out; The Duke's Armorer, in +Stories of Chivalry Retold from St. Nicholas; The Scullion +Boy's Opportunity, in Marden, Winning Out; The Vision of +Anton the Clockmaker, in Dyer, The Richer Life, Tubal +Cain, Mackay (poem), in Story-Telling Poems. + + +COLUMBUS DAY + +For grades 4-8. + +Columbus, Miller (poem), in Riverside Seventh Reader; +Columbus at the Convent, Trowbridge (poem), in Stevenson, +Poems of American History; Guanahani, in Maores, Christopher +Columbus; How Diego Mendez Got Food for Columbus +in Higginson, American Explorers; How Diego Mendez +Saved Columbus, in Higginson, American Ewplorers; In +Search of the Grand Khan, in Moores, Christopher Columbus; +The Garden of Eden, in Moores, Christopher Columbus. + + +HALLOWEEN + +For grades 1-4. + +The Smith and the Fairies, in Grierson, Children's Book of +Celtic Stories; The Witch, in Lang, Yellow Fairy Book; The +Witch That was a Hare, in Rhys, English Fairy Book; Tom- +Tit Tot (Rumpelstiltskin), in Jacobs, English Fairy Tales. + +For grades 5-6. + +Mr. Fox, in Jacobs, English Fairy Tales; The Godfather, +in Grimm, German Household Tales; The Golden Arm, in +Jacobs, Enylish Fairy Tales; The Robber Bridegroom, in +Grimm, German Household Tales; The Story of a Cat, Bedoliere; +The Youth Who Could not Shiver or Shake, in Grimm, +German Household Tales. + +For grades 7-8. + +Alice Brand, in Scott, Lady of the Lake (poem); All- +Hallow-Eve Myths, in Our Holidays Retold from St. Nicholas; +Black Andie's Tale of Tod Lapraik, in Stevenson, David +Balfour; History of Hallowe'en, in Stevenson, Days and +Deeds (prose); Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle +Irving; Macbeth, Shakespeare; The Bottle Imp, in Stevenson, +Island Nights' Entertainments; The Devil and Tom +Walker, Irving; The Fire-King, Scott (poem); The Speaking +Rat, in Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, chapter 15. + + +THANKSGIVING DAY + +For grades 1-4 + +A Thanksgiving Dinner, in White, When Molly was Six; +The Chestnut Boys, in Poulsson, In the Child's World; The +First Thanksgiving Day, in Wiggin and Smith, Story Hour; +The Marriage of Mondahmin, in Judd, Wigwam Stories; The +Turkey's Nest, in Lindsay, More Mother Stories; The Visit, +in Lindsay, More Mother Stories; Turkeys Turning the +Tables, in Howells, Christmas Every Day. + +For grades 5-6. + +A Dinner That Ran Away, in Miller, Kristy's Surprise +Party; A Mystery in the Kitchen, in Miller, Kristy's Surprise +Party; Ann Mary, Her Two Thanksgivings, in Wilkins, +Young Lueretia; An Old-Time Thanksgiving, in Indian Stories +Retold from St. Nicholas; The Coming of Thanksgiving, and +The Season of Pumpkin Pies, in Warner, Being a Boy; The +Magic Apples, in Brown, In the Days of Giants; St. Francis's +Sermon to the Birds, Longfellow (poem), in Story-Telling +Poems. + +For grades 7-8. + +An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Alcott; The First +Thanksgiving Day, Preston (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The +Night Before Thanksgiving, in Jewett, The Queen's Twin; +The Peace Message (poem), in Stevenson, Poems of Amercan +History; The Turkey Drive, in Sharp, Winter. + + + +CHRISTMAS DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +A Christmas Tree Reversed, in Brown, lattle Miss Phoebe +Gay; Babouseka, Thomas (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; +Christmas Every Day, Howells; Fulfilled, in Bryant, How to +Tell Stories to Children; His Christmas Turkey, in Vawter, +The Rabbi's Ransom; In the Great Walled Country, in Alden, +Why the Chimes Rang; Little Girl's Christmas, in Dickinson +and Skinner, Children's Book of Christmas Stories; Santa +Claus and the Mouse, Poulsson (poem), in St. Nicholas +Christmas Book; The Christmas Cake, in Lindsay, More +Mother Stories; The Christmas Tree, in Austin, Basket +Woman; The First New England Christmas, in Stone and +Fickett, Every-Day Life in the Colonies; The Golden Cobwebs, +in Bryant, How to Tell Stories to Children; The Moon of +Yule, in Davis, The Moons of Balbanea; The Rileys' Christmas, +in White, When Molly was Six; The Story of Gretehen +in Lindsay, Mother Stories; The Three Kings of Cologne, Field +(poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Turkey Doll, Gates; The +Voyage of the Wee Red Cap, in Dickinson and Skinner, Children's +Book of Christmas Stories; Toinette and the Elves, in +Dickinson and Skinner, Children's Book of Christmas Stones; +'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Moore (poem); Why the +Chimes Rang, Alden. + +For grades 5-6. + +Christmas Before Last, in Stockton, Bee-Man of Orn; +Christmas in the Alley, in Miller, Kristy's Queer Christmas; +Dog of Flanders, Ramee; Felix, in Stein, Troubadour Tales; +Good King Wenceslas (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; +Hope's Christmas Tree, in Miller, Kristy's Surprise Party, +How a Bear Brought Christmas, in Miller, Kristy's Queer +Christmas; How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar, in +Harte, Luck of Roaring Camp; How Uncle Sam Observes +Christmas, in Our Holidays Retold from St. Nicholas; Lottie's +Christmas Tree, in Miller, Kristy's Rainy Day Picnic; St. +Nicholas and the Innkeeper, in Walsh, Story of Santa Klaus; +St. Nicholas and the Robbers, in Walsh, Story of Santa +Klaus; St. Nicholas and the Slave Boy, in Walsh, Story of +Santa Klaus; Santa Claus on a Lark, Gladden; Solomon +Crow's Christmas Pockets, Stuart; The Birds' Christmas +Carol, Wiggin; The Coming of the Prince, in Field, Christmas +Tales and Christmas Verse; The Festival of St. Nicholas, +in Dodge, Hans Brinker; The Peace Egg, Ewing; The Symbol +and the Saint, in Field, Christmas Tales and Christmas +Verse. + +For grades 7-8. + +A Christmas Carol, Dickens; A Still Christmas, Repplier, +in Morris, In the Yule-Log Glow; The First Christmas Tree, +Van Dyke; The Lost Word, Van Dyke; The Mansion, Van +Dyke; The Other Wise Man, Van Dyke; Cosette, in Hugo, Les +Miserables, book 3; Where Love is, There God is Also, Tolstoy. + + + +ARBOR DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +Flower of the Almond and Fruit of the Fig, in Foote, Little +Fig-Tree Stories; Earl and the Dryad, in Brown, Star Jewels; +The Girl Who Became a Pine Tree, in Judd, Wigwam Stories; +The Kind Old Oak, in Poulsson, In the Child's World; The +Oak Tree, in Vawter, The Rabbit's Ransom; The Workman +and the Trees, in Ramaswami Raju, Indian Fables. + +For grades 5-6. + +Apple-Seed John, Child (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; +How the Children Saved Hamburg, in Marden, Winning +Out; How the Indians Learned to Make Maple Sugar, in +University of the State of New York, Legends and Poetry of +the Forests; Old Pipes and the Dryad, in Stockton, Bee-Man +of Orn; Tale of Old Man and the Birch Tree, in University of +the State of New York, Legends and Poetry of the Forests; +The Elm and the Vine, Rosas (poem), in Story-Telling +Poems; The Gourd and the Palm (poem), in Story-Telling +Poems; The Planting of the Apple Tree, Bryant (poem), in +Riverside Fifth Reader. + +For grades 7-8. + +Brier-Rose, Boyesen (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; How +the Charter was Saved, in Morris, Historical Tales, American; +O-So-Ah, the Tall Pine Speaks, in University of the +State of New York, Legends and Poetry of the Forests; The +Eliot Oak, in Drake, New England Legends; The First of +the Trees, in University of the State of New York, Legends +and Poetry of the Forests; The Liberty Tree, in Hawthorne, +Grandfather's Chair, part 3. chapter 2; The Plucky Prince, +May Bryant (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Story of +a Thousand-Year Pine, Mills; The Washington Elm, in +Drake, New England Legends. + + +BIRD DAY + +For grades 1-4. + +Out of the Nest, in Lindsay, More Mother Stories; The Fox +and the Crow, in Jacobs, Aesop's Fables; The Jackdaw and +the Doves, in Scudder, Book of Fables and Folk-Stories; The +Jay and the Peacock, in Jacobs, Aesop's Fables; The King, the +Falcon, and the Drinking Cup, in Dutton, The Tortoise and +the Geese; The Lark and her Young Ones, in Scudder, Book of +Fables and Folk-Stories; The Monk and the Bird, in Scudder, +Book of legends; The Owl and his School, in Ramaswami +Raju, Indian Fables; The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, Lear +(poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Partridge and the Crow, +in Dutton, The Tortoise and the Geese; The Pious Robin, in +Brown, Curious Book of Birds; The Rustic and the Nightingale, +in Dutton, The Tortoise and the Geese; The Sparrows, +Thaxter (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Sparrows and +the Snake, in Dutton, The Tortoise and the Geese; The Spendthrift +and the Swallow, in Scudder, Book of Fables and Folk- +Stories; The Story of the First Mocking-Bird, in Holbrook, +Book of Nature Myths; The Story of the Oriole, in Holbrook, +Book of Nature Myths; The Wren Who Brought Fire, in +Brown, Curious Book of Birds; Why the Peacock's Tail has +a Hundred Eyes, in Holbrook, Book of Nature Myths; Why +the Peetweet Cries for Rain, in Holbrook, Book of Nature +Myths. + +For grades 5-6. + +A Madcap Thrush, in Miller, True Bird Stories; Antics in +the Bird Room, in Miller, True Bird Stories; Fate of the +Children of Lir, in Grierson, Children's Book of Celtie Stories; +Halcyone, in Brown, Curious Book of Birds; St. Francis's Sermon +to the Birds, Longfellow (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; +Saint Kentigern and the Robin, in Brown, Book of Saints +and Friendly Beasts; The Donkey and the Mocking-Bird, +Rosas (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Early Girl, in +Brown, Curious Book of Birds; The Nightingale, in Andersen, +Wonder Stories; The Parrot, Campbell (poem), in Story- +Telling Poems, The Phoenix, in Brown, Curious Book of +Birds; The Robin, Whittier (poem); The Sauey Oriole, in +Miller, True Bird Stories; The Wild Swans, in Andersen, +Wonder Stories; Walter son der Vogelweid, Longfellow +(poem). + +For grades 7-8. + +Arnaux, the Chroniele of a Homing Pigeon, in Thompson- +Seton, Animal Heroes; King Edwin's Feast, Chadwiek +(poem), in Story-Telling Poems; Our New Neighbors at +Ponkapog, in Riverside Seventh Reader; The Abbot of Inisfalen, +Allingham (poem), in Story-Telling Poems; The Birds +of Killingworth, Longfellow (poem); The Downy Woodpecker, +in Bird Stories from Burroughs; The Eagle, Tennyson +(poem); The Emperor's Bird's-Nest, Longfellow (poem), +in Story-Telling Poems; The Falcon of Ser Federigo, Longfellow +(poem); The Gulls, in Breck, Wilderness Pets, pages +103, 161; The House Wren, in Bird Stories from Burroughs; +The Keeper of the Nest, in Roberts, The Feet of the Furtive; +The Screech Owl, in Bird Stories from Burroughs; The Song +Sparrow, in Bird Stories from Burroughs. + + + + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Good Stories for Holidays + + + |