DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 DURHAM, N. C. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/naturalmethodrea31mcma 
 
A THIRD READEE 
 
THE NATURAL METHOD 
 READERS 
 
 A THIRD READER 
 
 BY 
 
 HANNAH T. McMANUS 
 
 Principal, Public Schools, The City of New Yobk 
 AND 
 
 JOHN H. HAAREN 
 
 Associate Superintendent of Schools, The City of New Yobk 
 ILLUSTRATED BY BLANCHE FISHER WRIGHT 
 
 133940 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 
 
Copyright, 1916, by 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SOI^S 
 
PREFACE l^'l^'l"^ 
 
 if? ;3 
 
 The Third Reader follows logically the previous 
 books of the Natural Method series, but it may 
 be used to advantage with any other well-graded 
 earlier books. The selections do not differ greatly 
 in character from those in the Second Reader, but 
 they make a broader appeal, and the ethical element 
 is emphasized somewhat more strongly. The poem, 
 the myth, the fairy and folk tale, the historical legend, 
 the nature story, the hero story, as well as the tale 
 of every-day experience, are all represented. An at- 
 tempt has been made to provide material that will 
 appeal to the many interests of the child, and also 
 stimulate his imagination, instil proper ideals of con- 
 duct, and cultivate literary taste. 
 
 The vocabulary of the Third Reader is neces- 
 sarily larger and more varied than that of the Secoxd 
 Reader. Long and complex sentences are used more 
 freely, and the paragraphs are also ampler than in the 
 earlier books. The difficulties presented by vocabu- 
 lary, sentence, and paragraph structure are not, how- 
 ever, beyond the abilities of the normal third-grade 
 child. 
 
 It is expected that by the time the child takes up 
 the Third Reader he will have a reasonable mas- 
 tery of phonics. This will enable him to get from the 
 symbols the sound of the entire word he meets in his 
 
 V 
 
 133940 
 
reading unless it presents some unusual difficulty. 
 Phonics will also assist him, while reading aloud, to 
 pronounce his words clearly. Clearness of pronuncia- 
 tion is the result of good articulation, and intelligent 
 expression ought to follow from the interest or inten- 
 sity with which the thought has been comprehended. 
 
 But oral reading, which is concerned with articula- 
 tion and expression, is only part of the reading process. 
 As the child advances in age, more and more of his 
 reading is done silently, and it begins to take its place 
 as an instrument for acquiring information. The for- 
 mation of a taste for reading is the fundamental aim, 
 and this taste finds the field for its exercise chiefly in 
 silent reading. Silent reading, however, should not do 
 away with the necessity for oral reading, but should 
 supplement and accompany it. 
 
 The authors believe that the teacher will find the 
 Third Reader to be not only an efficient tool for 
 the teaching of reading, but an influence for culture 
 in the life of the child. 
 
 Thanks are due The Youth's Companion for per- 
 mission to use ''Taking Care of Skip," by Clayton H. 
 Ernst, and "Three Orphans," by Edward W. Frentz; 
 the Houghton Miffiin Company for permission to use 
 "Kriss Kringle," by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, ''The 
 Song of the Thrush," by Lucy Larcom, and ''Spring," 
 by Ceha Thaxter; and the author and Silver, Burdett 
 & Co. for permission to use "Dandelion," by Kate 
 Louise Brown. 
 
 vi 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PACK 
 
 Good-bye to Summer William Allingham . . 1 
 
 Why the Fox Has a White Tip to 
 
 His Tail Old Folk Tale ... 3 
 
 The Crested Hen Swedish Folk Tale . . 7 
 
 Long Ears Old Fable 11 
 
 October's Party George Cooper ... 15 
 
 The Honest Woodman .... Old Fable Dramatized . 17 
 
 Coming and Going Henry Ward Beecher 
 
 (adapted) ... 23 
 
 Ama and Susa . Japanese Fairy Tale . 28 
 
 Down by the Pool R. H. Bowles .... 32 
 
 Foreign Lands Robert Louis Stevenson 38 
 
 The Boy Who Walked to China . Mediaeval Legend . . 40 
 
 A Noble Chief Legendary History . . 44 
 
 Peach Prince and the Giant . . Japanese Fairy Tale . 48 
 
 Jack Frost Gabriel Setoun ... 58 
 
 BeUing the Cat Old Fable Dramatized . 60 
 
 Taking Care of Skip Clayton H, Ernst 
 
 (adapted) ... 68 
 
 Orpheus, the Great Musician . . Greek Myth . . . . 78 
 
 vii 
 

 Henry W^adsworth 
 
 PAGB 
 
 How the Ducks Got Their Fine 
 
 i^oiigieiiow . . . 
 
 
 
 Frank B. Linderman 
 
 
 
 (adapted) . . . . 
 
 86 
 
 How Thor's Hammer Was Found 
 
 Norse Myth . . . . 
 
 93 
 
 
 Thomas Bailey Aldrich 
 
 106 
 
 The Ants' Monday Dinner . . . 
 
 Helen Hunt (adapted) 
 
 107 
 
 The Cave of Gold 
 
 East Indian Folk Tale . 
 
 117 
 
 Gold and Love for Dearie . . . 
 
 Eugene Field . . . . 
 
 124 
 
 The Princess on the Glass Hill . . 
 
 Norse Fairy Tale . . 
 
 127 
 
 The Night Wind 
 
 Eugene Field . . . . 
 
 148 
 
 A Great and Wise King .... 
 
 The Bible 
 
 152 
 
 The Fox and the Wolf .... 
 
 Old Folk Tale . . . 
 
 159 
 
 
 Frank French . . . 
 
 169 
 
 The Three Feathers 
 
 Grimm Brothers . . . 
 
 171 
 
 Snowdrop and the Seven Dwarfs . 
 
 Dramatized from 
 Grimm Brothers 
 
 
 
 by R,. H. Bowles . 
 
 181 
 
 Washington's Birthday .... 
 
 Margaret E. bangster . 
 
 204 
 
 
 
 206 
 
 
 Norwegian Fairy Tale . 
 
 213 
 
 Lines Written in March .... 
 
 William Wordsworth . 
 
 227 
 
 Our Friend Mr. Muskrat . . . 
 
 R. H. Bowles . . . . 
 
 229 
 
 The Song of the Thrush .... 
 
 Lucy Larcom .... 
 
 235 
 
 
 Edward W. Frentz 
 
 
 
 (adapted) . . 
 
 237 
 
 The Apples of Youth 
 
 Norse Myth . . . . 
 
 245 
 
 viii 
 
PAGE 
 
 Spring Celia Thaxter . . . 255 
 
 How Andy Helped to Capture the 
 
 Redcoats John P. Kennedy 
 
 (adapted) ... 257 
 
 The Flag W. B. Xesbit .... 267 
 
 How Temple Saved Her Horse 269 
 
 Dandelion Kate Louise Brown . 276 
 
 King Grisly-Beard Grimm Brothers . . . 278 
 
 A Proud King Mediaeval Legend . .290 
 
 Hiawatha's Childhood .... Henry ^Yadsworth 
 
 Longfellow . . . 297 
 
 Why the Chipmunk's Back Is 
 
 Striped Frank B. Linderman . 299 
 
 (adapted) 
 
 ix 
 
4 THIRD EEADER 
 
If it were not for fairies, this world would be drear ; 
 (I'm sure there are fairies, — heigh-ho !) 
 The grass would not tangle, 
 The bluebells would jangle, 
 The days would be stupid and queer, you know. 
 And everything dull if the fairies should go, 
 (I'm sure they are true, — heigh-ho !) 
 
 Mary Mapes Dodge. 
 
GOOD-BYE TO SODIER 
 
 Good-bye. good-bye to summer! 
 
 For smnmer's nearly done; 
 
 The garden smiling faintly, 
 
 Cool breezes in the sun; 
 1 
 
Our thrushes now are silent, 
 Our swallows flown away, — 
 
 But Robin's here in coat of brown ^ 
 With ruddy breastknot gay. 
 
 Bright yellow, red, and orange, 
 
 The leaves came down in hosts; 
 The trees are Indian princes, 
 
 But soon they'll turn to ghosts; 
 The scanty pears and apples 
 
 Hang russet on the bough; 
 It's autumn, autumn, autumn late, 
 
 'Twill soon be winter now. 
 
 William Allingham. 
 
WHY THE FOX HAS A WHITE TIP TO 
 HIS TAIL 
 
 Once on a time there was a woman who 
 went out to hire a herdsman. Presently she 
 met a bear. 
 
 ''Whither away, Goody?" asked Bruin. 
 
 ''Oh, I'm going off to find a herdsman/' 
 answered the woman. 
 
 ''Why will not I do?" asked Bruin. 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said the woman, "if 
 you can only call the flock. Let me hear 
 you try." 
 
 Ow ! oiv!'' growled the bear. 
 
 "No, no! that will neyer do in the world!" 
 said the woman, and off she went on her way. 
 
 3 
 
When she had gone a httle farther^ she 
 met a wolf. 
 
 ''Whither away, Goody?" asked the wolf. 
 
 ''Oh/' said she, "I'm off to find a herdsman." 
 
 "Why will not I do?" asked the wolf 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said the woman, "if 
 you can only call the flock. Let me hear 
 you try." 
 
 "?7A, uh!'' howled the wolf 
 
 "No, no! that will never do in the world!" 
 said the woman. 
 
 When she had gone a little farther, she 
 met a fox. 
 
 "Whither away. Goody?" asked the fox. 
 
 "I'm off to find a herdsman," said the 
 woman. 
 
 "Why will not I do?" asked the fox. 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said she, "if you can 
 only call the flock. Let me hear you try." 
 
 Dil-dal-liolom ! sang out the fox, in a fine, 
 clear voice. 
 
 4 
 
'^Yes, I'll hire you for my herdsman," said 
 the woman: and so she set the fox to Tratch 
 her flock. 
 
 The first day the fox was herdsman he ate 
 up all the woman's goats. The next day he 
 made an end of all her sheep. And the third 
 day he ate up all her cows. 
 
 When he came home at evenins:, the 
 
 5 
 
woman asked what he had done with all her 
 flock. 
 
 " Oh/' said the fox, their heads are in the 
 stream, and their bodies in the wood." 
 
 Now, the Goody was churning when the 
 fox said this. Soon afterwards she thought 
 she might as well step out and see after the 
 flock. But while she was away the fox crept 
 into the churn and ate up the cream. 
 
 When the Goody came back and saw that, 
 
 she fell into a great rage. She snatched up 
 
 the little morsel of cream that was left, and 
 
 threw it at the fox as he ran off. A little dab 
 
 of it stuck to the end of his tail. That is why 
 
 the fox has a white tip to his brush. 
 
 6 
 
THE CRESTED HEN 
 
 The crested hen was very silly, and gave 
 Cock-a-Doodle a great deal of trouble. 
 
 "Keep with the other hens/' he would say 
 to her, when she strayed away from the others ; 
 ''there is safety in numbers/' 
 
 But the crested hen paid no attention to 
 Cock-a-Doodle's advice. She had a tuft of 
 feathers on her head that she was very proud 
 of, and she wished everyone to see it. As 
 she was not very big, she was afraid that she 
 wouldn't be clearly seen, if she went with the 
 crowd. 
 
 Around the poultry-yard was a high fence. 
 Every day the crested hen would look at that 
 fence, and long to fly over it to the other side. 
 She knew that there was a big field beyond 
 the fence. Once she had flown up into the 
 apple-tree, and looked away off into the country. 
 
 7 
 
''Ah! If I only dared to flv over the 
 fence into the big field ! " she said to herself. 
 ''People couldn't help seeing me then, all by 
 myself." 
 
 At last one day she felt very brave and 
 decided to fly over. She set her wings^ gave 
 a strong push upon the ground with her feet 
 to start herself, and up she went to the top of 
 the wall. There she rested a moment, looking 
 down upon the plain, simple people she had 
 left below. 
 
 8 
 
Cock-a-Doodle was very much surprised. 
 He looked up at her. first out of one eye, 
 and then out of the other. Then he rose on 
 tiptoe, flapped his wings loudly, and called at 
 the top of his voice : _ ' 
 
 " Come down this instant, do-oo-oo ! " 
 
 But the crested hen flew down on the 
 other side. 
 
 ''I have been too kind to her," said Cock- 
 a-Doodle. Her beauty has been her mis- 
 fortune." And with that he flew to the top 
 of the wall, to see that no harm came to her. 
 
 "Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!" Something 
 dreadful must already have happened. Look- 
 ing in the direction of the noise, Cock-a-Doodle 
 saw that the neighbor's dog had caught the 
 crested hen. Luckily, the dog was only a 
 puppy, and glad of a new plaything. AYhen 
 he had pulled the beautiful tuft from the 
 top of her head and some feathers from her 
 breast besides, he left the foolish hen lying 
 
 9 
 
on the ground. Then he ran off in search of 
 other sport. 
 
 Cock-a-Doodle was greatly excited. He was 
 afraid the crested hen was dead. Cock-a- 
 doodle-doo!" he called with all his might. He 
 made such a noise that the farmer came run- 
 ning up. Seeing that something was wrong 
 with his flock on the other side of the wall^ 
 the farmer quickly brought a ladder, and went 
 up to look over. There was the poor crested 
 hen lying on the grass. 
 
 He jumped down and picked her up. Then, 
 going out by the gateway, he brought her back 
 to her home and family. 
 
 The crested hen had learned her lesson. 
 Some of her feathers grew again, but the beau- 
 tiful topknot never came back to her pretty 
 head. Without it she became as meek as any 
 of the other hens, and never again gave Cock- 
 a-Doodle the least trouble. 
 
 10 
 
J 
 
 LONG EARS 
 
 There was once a little gray donkey named 
 Long Ears. He was a pretty little donkey, 
 but I am sorry to say that he was very lazy. 
 He worked only when he had to, and then 
 very unwillingly. It was very mean of him to 
 behave so, because he had a kind master. 
 
 Now Long Ears' master had a little dog 
 
 named Spot. Spot was a great favorite with 
 
 the whole family. He was allowed to run 
 
 about the garden and the house, and when 
 
 his master came home, he would jump about 
 
 him, and bark and lick his hands. Sometimes 
 
 he would even jump into his mistress's lap, 
 
 11 
 
as she sat sewing or reading by the fire in 
 the evening. 
 
 Poor Long Ears ! When he saw what a 
 favorite Spot was^ he began to get jealous. 
 
 " Why should Spot lead such an easy life ? " 
 he said to himself He does nothing to earn 
 his living. I work hard all day, but he spends 
 his time frisking about and barking or lying 
 asleep in the sun." 
 
 So he would talk and complain every day, 
 until he really began to believe that he was 
 ill-treated. 
 
 At last, one day Long Ears had what he 
 thought was a bright idea. 
 
 Perhaps if I should frisk about and make 
 a lot of noise, as Spot does, they would pet 
 me as they do him,'' he said to himself 
 
 So he came out of the stable, and began 
 to jump about and switch his tail and hee- 
 haw in the wildest way. 
 
 The family heard the noise, and ran to the 
 
 12 
 
windows to see what was the matter. When 
 they saw Long Ears' queer behavior, thev 
 were much amused and laughed heartily. 
 
 Long Ears felt very much pleased. So 
 far. so good." said he. '"'Xow for something 
 still more exciting.'' 
 
 The front door of the house happened to 
 be open, so up the steps clattered Long Ears 
 and on into the house. 
 
 Oh ! Oh I What confusion I Long Ears' 
 mistress was nearly frightened to death. The 
 
 13 
 
children screamed with terror. Long Ears had 
 gone through the front hall into the living- 
 room. Now he began to jump about^ swing- 
 ing his long tail and hee-hawing as he had 
 done out in the yard. 
 
 Eun for the stable-boy ! cried Long Ears' 
 mistress. ''The donkey has surely gone crazy!'' 
 
 Crash! The donkey's long tail knocked 
 the big lamp off the table. What would have 
 happened next nobody can tell. But just at 
 this moment Bob, the stable-boy, came run- 
 ning in. He gave Long Ears such a blow with 
 the whip that the poor foolish donkey was 
 glad enough to run out into the yard again 
 as fast as he could go. A few minutes later, 
 Bob had fastened him safely in the stable. 
 
 Poor foolish Long Ears ! He was never al- 
 lowed to go out into the yard by himself again. 
 
 He never quite understood why he could 
 not be treated like a lap dog, if he behaved 
 like one. 
 
 14 
 
OCTOBER'S PARTY 
 
 October gave a party^ 
 
 The leaves by hundreds came; 
 The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples^ 
 
 And leaves of every name. 
 
 The sunshine spread a carpet 
 And everything was grand ; 
 
 Miss Weather led the dancing, 
 Professor Wind the band. 
 
 The Chestnuts came in yellow, 
 The Oaks in crimson dressed ; 
 
 The lovely Misses Maple 
 
 In scarlet looked their best. 
 
 All balanced to their partners 
 And gayly fluttered by ; 
 
 The sight was like a rainbow 
 New-fallen from the sky. 
 
 15 
 
Then in the shady hollows 
 
 At hide and seek they played; 
 
 The party closed at sundown, 
 And everybody stayed. 
 
 Professor Wind played louder; 
 
 They flew along the ground ; 
 And then the party ended 
 
 As they balanced all around. 
 
 George Cooper. 
 
THE HOXEST WOODMAN 
 
 First Woodman Second Woodman 
 Stranger 
 
 Scene I 
 
 BY THE SIDE OF A STREAjVI 
 
 First Woodman : Oh, what shall I do ? I have 
 dropped my ax into the stream^ and I 
 cannot get it again. Oh, dear ! Oh, dear I 
 What an unlucky day this is for me! 
 (A stranger comes in) 
 
Stranger ; Well, sir, what is the matter ? Why 
 do you sit here by the side of the stream, 
 moaning, and wringing your hands ? 
 
 First Woodman : I have lost my ax in the 
 stream, and I have no money with which 
 to buy another. As I am a woodcutter^ 
 without my ax I cannot earn money for 
 my wife and little children. 
 
 Stranger : That is a sad state of things, indeed. 
 But perhaps I can help you. Wait a 
 moment. {Plunges into the stream^ and a 
 moment later eomes out again with an ax of 
 gold) Here, my good man, is this your 
 ax? 
 
 First Woodman: {Takes ax and looks it over) 
 Oh, no, sir ! This ax is of gold. Mine 
 was only a common ax of steel. 
 
 Stranger : I will try again. {Plunges into the 
 stream^ and soon eomes out again with an ax 
 of silver) Here is another ax. Perhaps 
 this is yours ? 
 
First Woodman: {Takes ax and looks it over) 
 Xo. this ax is of silver. It isn't mine. 
 
 Stranger : Well, I will try once more. {Plunges 
 into the stream^ and soon comes out again icith 
 a common steel ax) Is this the ax you lost ? 
 
 First Woodman : Oh, yes, yes ! That is my ax ! 
 Thank you, sir ! I shall be all right now. 
 
 Stranger: You are an honest man and, as a 
 reward for your honesty, keep these axes 
 
of gold and silver. They are worth a 
 fortune. 
 
 First Woodman : Oh, thank you, sir ; thank you, 
 sir! I will go home and tell my wife 
 and children about my wonderful good 
 fortune. 
 
 Scene II 
 
 SECOND WOODMAN IS SITTING BY THE SIDE OF THE 
 
 STREAM 
 
 Second Woodman : There, now ! I have thrown 
 my ax into the stream, and I will wait 
 and see what happens. If I only have 
 as good luck as my neighbor had, I shall 
 get axes of gold and of silver that will 
 be worth a fortune. Then I shall not 
 have to work any more, but can spend 
 the rest of my life in having a good time. 
 But I must make believe I am in great 
 sorrow. Oh, dear ! Oh, dear ! What shall 
 I do ! ( Wr ings his hands. Stranger comes in) 
 
 20 
 
iStvanger : Well, sir, what is the matter ? Why 
 do you sit here by the side of the stream, 
 moaning, and wringing your hands ? 
 
 Second Woodman : Ah, kind sir, I have lost my 
 ax in the stream. If I do not get it 
 back I shall be ruined, for I have no 
 money with which to buy another. 
 
 Stranger : Oh, is that all ? Perhaps I can help 
 you. {Plunges into the stream and comes up 
 with an ax of gold.) Here, is this your ax? 
 
 Second Woodman: {Reaching out his hand eagerly 
 for the ax) Oh, yes, yes ! That is it. 
 
 Stranger : No, it is not. You are a dishonest 
 fellow. You shall not have this ax of 
 gold because you do not deserve it. Nor 
 will I get your own ax, which you threw 
 into the stream. You have lost all be- 
 cause you are untruthful and dishonest. 
 Go home, and for the future always tell 
 the truth, and do not try to obtain un- 
 fairly what does not belong to you. 
 
COMING AND GOING 
 
 Once there came to our fields a pair of 
 birds that had never built a nest or seen a 
 winter. The fields were full of flowers, the 
 grass was growing tall, and the bees were 
 humming everywhere. 
 
 Then one of the birds began singing. " Who 
 told you to sing ? " asked the other bird. And 
 he answered, The flowers told me, and the 
 bees told me, and the winds and leaves told 
 me, and you told me to sing." 
 
 Then his mate asked, "When did I tell 
 you to sing ? " And he said, " Every time you 
 brought in tender grass for the nest, and every 
 time your soft wings fluttered off again for 
 hair and feathers to line the nest." 
 
 23 
 
Then his mate said, What are you sing- 
 ing about ? " And he answered, I am sing- 
 ing about everything and nothing. It is be- 
 cause I am so happy that I sing." 
 
 By and by five httle speckled eggs were in 
 the nest, and his mate said, ''Is there any- 
 thing in all the world as pretty as my eggs ? " 
 Then they both looked down on some people 
 that were passing by, and pitied them because 
 they were not birds. 
 
 One day, a week or two later, when the 
 father-bird came home, the mother-bird said, 
 Oh, what do you think has happened. One 
 of my eggs has been peeping and moving ! " 
 
 Pretty soon another egg moved under her 
 feathers, and then another and another, till 
 five little birds were hatched ! Now the father- 
 bird sang louder and louder than ever. The 
 mother-bird, too, wanted to sing, but she had 
 no time, and so she turned her song into work. 
 
 So hungry were these little birds that both 
 
 24 
 
parents ^ere kept very busy feeding them. 
 Back and forth they flew with food for the 
 httle ones. 
 
 The moment the httle birds heard the 
 wings of the old birds fluttering among the 
 leaves, five yellow mouths flew open wide, so 
 wide that nothing else could be seen ! 
 
 Can anybody be happier ? said the father- 
 bird to the mother-bird. AYe will live in this 
 tree always, for there is no sorrow here. It 
 is a tree that always bears joy." 
 
 25 
 
Soon the little birds were big enough to 
 fly, and great was their parents' joy to see 
 them leave the nest and sit crumpled up 
 on the branches. 
 
 Then there was a great time ! The two 
 old birds talking and chatting to make the 
 young ones go alone! In a short time the 
 young ones had learned to use their wings, 
 and they flew away and away, and found 
 their own food, and sang their own songs of 
 
 joy. 
 
 Then the old birds sat silent and looked at 
 each other, until the mother-bird said, ''Whj^ 
 don't you sing ? " And her mate answered^ 
 ''I can't sing — I can only think and think." 
 
 "What are you thinking of?" 
 
 '^I am thinking how everything changes. 
 The leaves are falling from this tree, and soon 
 there will be no roof over our heads. The 
 flowers are all going. Last night there Avas 
 a frost. Almost all the birds are flown away. 
 
 26 
 
Something calls me, and I feel as if I should 
 like to fly far away." 
 
 " Let us fly away together ! 
 
 Then they rose silently, and, lifting them- 
 selves far up in the air, they looked to the 
 north. Far away they saw the snow coming. 
 They looked to the south. There they saw 
 flowers and green leaves. All day they flew, 
 and all night they flew and flew. At last they 
 came to a land where there was no winter, 
 where flowers always bloom, and birds always 
 
 smg. 
 
 Henry Ward Beecher (adapted). 
 
AMA AND SUSA 
 
 Ama is the fairy of the sun, and her brother 
 Susa is the fairy of the sea. They are very 
 fond of each other, and play all sorts of games 
 together ; but sometimes they disagree. 
 
 You see, the truth is that Susa often plays 
 very roughly. Sometimes he tosses his great 
 billows about, and even throws great ships 
 upon the rocks, where they are wrecked. 
 
 Once he puffed such great clouds up into 
 Ama's face, and made his winds roar so loud, 
 that she ran away in fright and hid in a deep, 
 dark cave. 
 
 28 
 
Then her bright hght could be seen no 
 more, and the world became very dark. For 
 the moon. too. could shine no longer without 
 the sun fairy to brighten her face, and the 
 stars were too small and too far awav to give 
 much light. 
 
 Everybody missed the sunlight, even the 
 fishes in the sea ; so at last Susa began to 
 
 29 
 
be sorry that he had frightened his sister. 
 
 ''I'm afraid I was really too rough with little 
 
 Ama," said he. ''I will call her back again.^' 
 So Susa called to Ama, but she did not 
 > answer. He called and called, but still she 
 ^did not answer. The little sun fairy still hid 
 
 away in her deep cave, and all the world was 
 
 dark. 
 
 At last a bright thought struck Susa. He 
 made a very high tide, and sent his waters 
 lapping softly against the mouth of the cave 
 where Ama was hidden. The little waves 
 came gently rippling and murmuring against 
 the rocks, just as if they were kissing them. 
 
 Ama heard the sound and was pleased. 
 Yery quietly she stole to the mouth of the 
 cave and looked out. Susa was waiting for 
 her, hiding behind the rocks. 
 
 When she looked out of the cave, Susa 
 reached out with his long arm and held a 
 mirror before her face. At the same time he 
 
 30 
 
said in a soft pleading voice. I am the moon 
 fairy, I cannot shine without the hght from 
 your sweet face. Please come out and shine 
 again." 
 
 Then Ama, seeing her own bright face in 
 the mirror, thought it was the moon fairy who 
 was coaxing her. So she ventured out of the 
 cave a little way. 
 
 Then Susa threw his strong arms about her 
 and whisked her off to the sun. and there she 
 has remained to this very day. There she 
 shines and shines, and makes the whole world 
 happy with her light. 
 
 31 
 
DOWN BY THE POOL 
 
 The fish were not biting that morning. We 
 had pushed our way carefully through the 
 lily-pads to the best holes, and we had noth- 
 ing to show for our trouble but three small 
 trout. 
 
 They are beauties, even if they are small/' 
 said Donald, as he held one of them up for 
 me to look at. ''See what pretty spots they 
 have." 
 
 "Yes," said I, from my seat in the stern 
 of the canoe. "They look like bits of the 
 rainbow, don't they?" 
 
 The sun was getting high, and it was warm. 
 Birds sang and flitted about in the alders 
 along the shore. Beautiful dragon-flies darted 
 about over the water like little aeroplanes. 
 One big, handsome dragon-fly kept dipping 
 her tail in the water every few seconds. 
 
 32 
 
Donald;'' said I, do you see that big 
 dragon-fly dipping into the water every now 
 and then ? " 
 
 ''Yes, yes/'' said he. after looking a moment 
 " The bis: black and a^old fellow that iust 
 passed ? " 
 
 "Yes, that's the one I meant. Do you know 
 what she is doing ? " 
 
 ''Whv. no! Taking a drink 
 
 33 
 
I laughed. "Not at all! It is a mother 
 dragon-fly, and she is laying her eggs." 
 
 "Laying her eggs!" said Donald. "What 
 a funny way to do it! Then she can't sit on 
 them as a hen does, can she ? " 
 
 "No, indeed; she doesn't have to do that."i 
 
 " But won't they float away ? " 
 
 "Yes, that is just what they will do. If 
 we look carefully I think we can find some." 
 
 In a minute or two I saw some of the 
 dragon-fly's eggs floating slowly towards some 
 reeds near our canoe, and pointed them out 
 to Donald. 
 
 " Now," said I, " those eggs will hatch out in 
 a few hours into little insects called nymphs. 
 These are baby dragon-flies, only they don't 
 look like dragon-flies at all, but like little j 
 wriggly worms. After they are hatched they 
 go down to the bottom of the pool." 
 
 " Doesn't the mother dragon-fly take care 
 of them ? " asked Donald. 
 
 34 
 
''Xo, they have to look after themseh'es.'' 
 AVhv. hoTT queer ! I should thmk some 
 of them would get eaten up." 
 
 " I'm afraid they do. but there are so many 
 of them that some are always left. Well, 
 the baby dragon-flies wriggle and crawl about 
 at the bottom, eating other little insects and 
 getting bigger. They stay down in the mud 
 all winter, and when spring comes they come 
 up into the sunshine again. They climb up 
 on a reed till they are above the surface of 
 the water, and there they stay. Then the most 
 wonderful thing happens I After a while their 
 shells split up the back, and out they come, 
 full-grown dragon-flies. Let us see if we can 
 find some." 
 
 After a minute or two Donald called out, 
 I have found one ! " 
 
 But Avhen I looked at the reed he was point- 
 ino: at. I found that what he saw was onlv an 
 empty shell. 
 
 35 
 
No/' said " that is only the empty shell. 
 The dragon-fly has gone." 
 
 After looking a little farther, we found a 
 reed with an empty shell on it, and, a little 
 above, a dragon-fly that had just left it. The- 
 dragon-fly was wet, and its wings were all soft 
 and folded up. 
 
 If we wait awhile," said I, he will get 
 his wings dry and fly away." 
 
 So we waited. It was pleasant sitting there 
 in the canoe. Big, fleecy clouds drifted across 
 the sky overhead. Now and then a flsh would 
 jump for a fly, and little ripples would go 
 spreading out over the water from the spot 
 where he went down. I had almost fallen into 
 a doze, when suddenly Donald called, Oh.^ 
 father, look at him now ! " 
 
 I looked. The warm sun had dried the dragon- 
 fly^s wings. There he stood on the reed, his 
 beautiful body of black and gold and his long, 
 lace-like wings shimmering in the sunlight. 
 
 36 
 
He is about ready to go now," said I. As 
 I spoke, Donald gave the reed a poke with 
 his paddle, and, swish ! away went the dragon- 
 fly down the stream. 
 
 ''How fine it must be to be your own 
 'aeroplane!" said Donald. 
 
 "Yes," said I, ''and not to have to worry 
 
 37 
 
FOEEIGN LANDS 
 Up into the cherry-tree 
 Who should cHmb but httle me? 
 I held the trunk with both my hands 
 And looked abroad on foreign lands. 
 
 I saw the next-door garden lie^ 
 Adorned with flowers, before my eye^ 
 And many pleasant places more 
 That I had never seen before. 
 
 38 
 
I saw the dimpling river pass 
 And be the sky's blue looking-glass ; 
 The dusty roads go up and down 
 With people tramping in to town. 
 
 If I could find a higher tree 
 Farther and farther I should see, 
 To where the grown-up river slips 
 Into the sea among the ships. 
 
 To where the roads on either hand 
 Lead onward into fairyland. 
 Where all the children dine at five, 
 And all the playthings come alive. 
 
 Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
 39 
 
THE BOY WHO WALKED TO CHINA 
 
 Marco Polo lived in Yenice, a city in far- 
 away Italy. When he was only a small boy 
 of fifteen, he set out on foot with his father 
 to find his way to China. They had to go 
 over mountains, and across terrible deserts, 
 through hot, burning lands, and places where 
 it was very cold. Poor Marco was made quite 
 ill by the hardships, but he got better and 
 kept bravely on. 
 
 At last they came to China, where a great 
 king, called Kublai Khan, ruled the country. 
 There they decided to stay for a time. Marco 
 grew up at the court, and became a great 
 favorite of the king. He learned to speak 
 several languages, and was so clever that the 
 king sent him as his ambassador to Cochin 
 China, to India, and to other lands. 
 
 Each time he came back, Marco was able 
 
 40 
 
to tell the king not only the answer to the 
 message he had carried, but all about the 
 countries themselves; how the people lived, 
 what their trades were, and what big cities 
 and rivers and mountains he had seen. The 
 king had never had so clever an ambassador 
 as this before, and he heaped riches on 
 Marco and his father. 
 
 41 
 
Now, when Marco and his father had been 
 away for twenty-three years, they wanted to 
 go back to Venice. The king was very sorry 
 r to let them go, but at last he consented, and 
 thoy returned. When they got back to Venice 
 nobody knew them. Nobody would believe 
 that the little Marco Polo and his father, who 
 had gone away so poor, had become great 
 travellers and come back so rich. 
 
 So they asked their old friends to a great 
 feast. First they appeared in robes of crim- 
 son satin. Then they changed these for other 
 beautiful robes. At last they came into the 
 room wearing the torn, soiled old clothes 
 which they had worn in their wanderings. 
 
 But their friends were still more surprised, 
 when the travellers cut open the patches of 
 the old clothes, and showed that these were 
 filled with jewels. Then the people believed 
 that the strangers really were Marco and his 
 father, back from far-off lands. 
 
 42 
 
Marco remembered all he had seen and 
 learned, and afterwards he had it all written 
 in a book. For a long time people did not 
 believe his story. They did not believe that 
 there were such great lands as China and India, 
 with millions upon millions of people. And 
 the talk of silks and jewels and delicious foods 
 and perfumes, of which he tokl. seemed just 
 as untrue. 
 
 But by and by. when men began to know 
 more, they saw that Marco's book was true. 
 It set men studying and making bold plans 
 for discovery. The great Columbus, who lived 
 two hundred years later, was one of those 
 who studied the book. It helped him greatly, 
 when he was making up his mind to try to 
 find India bv sailina' over the sea. 
 
 43 
 
A NOBLE CHIEF 
 
 Long^ long ago, the land we now know as 
 England was called Britain, and the people 
 who lived there were called Britons. They 
 were a brave people, and loved their land 
 dearly. 
 
 One day the great Emperor of Rome sent 
 an army to Britain, to conquer the country 
 and make it a part of the Roman Empire. 
 But the Britons did not want to belong to the 
 Roman Empire. They wanted to be free to 
 live as they chose. So they fought the Roman 
 soldiers, and tried to drive them away. 
 
 For almost a hundred years the fighting 
 'went on. At last the Roman Emperor, Claudius, 
 said that the Britons must be conquered and 
 that the war must end. So he himself went 
 to Britain with a very large army. The Britons 
 fought bravely under their chief; Caradoc, but 
 
 44 
 
the Romans were too strong for them. Many 
 of the Britons were killed, and the rest fled 
 to the woods and mountains. 
 
 Caradoc went for help to his stepmother, 
 who was queen of one of the British tribes. 
 She made believe that she was glad to see 
 him. and promised to help him. But she was 
 a wicked woman, and secretly sent word to 
 
 45 
 
the Romans, who came and took him prisoner 
 with his wife and children. 
 
 Poor Caradoc was loaded with chains, and 
 taken to the great city of Rome. There he 
 was made to walk through the streets chained 
 to the car of the Emperor. 
 
 When the great procession arrived at the 
 royal palace, Caradoc and the other prisoners 
 were brought before the Emperor and the 
 Empress, who sat on a throne in a great hall. 
 But Caradoc would not kneel before the 
 Emperor like the other prisoners. Standing 
 proudly, with his head held high, he looked 
 Claudius in the eye and said: 
 
 ''You Romans are fighting to conquer the 
 whole world and to make all men slaves. I 
 have fought for my own freedom and for that 
 of my native land. You call yourselves my 
 conqueror, but I, too, am a conqueror. I 
 would rather die than be a slave or untrue to 
 my country." 
 
 46 
 
The Romans were brave, and they loved 
 brave men. AYhen they heard these noble 
 Tvords of Caradoc. they were filled with admi- 
 ration for him. The Empress herself begged 
 the Emperor to spare Caradoc's life, and Clau- 
 dms not only did this bnt he set Caradoc free. 
 
 For many years after that the great British 
 chief lived in Rome with his family, and the 
 Emperor was proud to call him friend. 
 
 47 
 
PEACH PEINCE AND THE GIANT 
 
 I 
 
 Once on a time there was an old man, who 
 Hved with his wife in a fine, big house. For 
 a while they were very happy; but one day a 
 wicked giant came and took all they had, and 
 carried it off to his island in the sea. 
 
 The old man felt very badly over his 
 misfortune, but his wife was quite cheerful. 
 "Never mind/' said she, "we must work and 
 save — that is all." 
 
 So they worked and saved, till after some 
 years they again had a home of their own. 
 Only this time it was a hut, instead of a fine, 
 big house. 
 
 One day a poor man came to their door. 
 "Please buy my last peach,'' said he. "I sold 
 the rest long ago, but no one will buy this 
 
 48 
 
one^ and my feet are sore with walking in 
 search of a customer. Besides, my wife and 
 Httle ones are waiting for me at home." 
 
 The wife was sorry for the poor man, and 
 bought the peach, though it was not a very 
 good one. He was overjoyed at the ending 
 of his long labors, and thanked her and went 
 away. See," said the wife to her husband, 
 though the wicked giant has made us poor, 
 we may still do a little good in the world." 
 
 Then she took a knife to divide the peach, 
 that she and her good man might each eat 
 half, when — lo and behold! — before the knife 
 touched it the fruit split open, stone and all, 
 and out stepped a handsome young man. 
 
 " Now, Heaven be praised ! " cried the old 
 man, it has sent us a son to work for us 
 in our old age." 
 
 But his wife said the boy must be a prince, 
 he was so fine and noble looking. Prince or 
 no prince, the boy could not tell where he 
 
 50 
 
came from or why he was there. As they had 
 no name for him^ they called him Peach Prince. 
 
 Now the good old people had nothing to 
 give him to eat but rice-cakes and tea. But 
 he took them gladly, thanking the good man 
 and his wife for their kindness. 
 
 Day after day passed, and the man and 
 his wife were still kind to the lad, caring for 
 him as if he had been their own son. Then 
 he said to himself, ''It shall come true as the 
 good man said. I will work for them when 
 they are old, and, meantime, I must learn 
 how." 
 
 51 
 
So he helped the woman in her household 
 tasks, and went with the men to the rice-fields. 
 There he soon learned all that was to be done, 
 and could do as much work as any of the 
 men. 
 
 ''This is a wonderful boy/' said the men 
 among themselves ; " he will do great things 
 when he grows up." 
 
 Peach Prince grew up all the more quickly 
 because of all the hard work he did. The 
 money he earned was used to improve the 
 home, so that in a few years his kind friends 
 were living almost as well as ever. 
 
 Then they told Peach Prince how well off 
 they had been long years before, and how the 
 wicked giant had robbed them of all they had. 
 He had even taken down their house, and 
 carried away parts of it to build one for him- 
 self on his island in the sea. 
 
 " Now I know why I was sent to you," 
 said Peach Prince. " I am to kill the giant 
 
 52 
 
and bring you back your treasures. I hear 
 the voice within me. I will start at once.'' 
 
 II 
 
 The good wife made Peach Prince some 
 dumplings, and he started on his way. After 
 a time he met a monkey, who asked him 
 where he was going. 
 
 53 
 
" I am going to kill the wicked giant who 
 took all my master's goods," replied Peach 
 Prince. 
 
 Give me a dumpling, and I will go with 
 you," said the monkey. So Peach Prince gave 
 him a dumpling, and the monkey went with 
 him. 
 
 Soon they met a bird, who asked where 
 they were going. 
 
 ''I am going to kill the wicked giant who 
 took all my master's goods," replied Peach 
 Prince. 
 
 Give me a dumpling, and I will go with 
 you," said the bird. So Peach Prince gave 
 him a dumpling, and the bird went with them. 
 
 At last they came to the sea shore. Here 
 they found a big boat. In this they set sail 
 and soon reached the island. 
 
 The bird flew ahead to find the best place 
 to land, and when they reached shallow water, 
 the monkey skipped out and carried the rope 
 
 54 
 
ashore. When they landed, Peach Prince took 
 the monkey on his back and the bird on his 
 headj and, with a heavy club in his' hand, 
 went to look for the giant's home. 
 
 It was soon found, for it was a very big 
 house which you could not miss, once you 
 set foot upon the island. It was built of the 
 parts of many houses, which the giant had 
 stolen from the honest people who lived on 
 the mainland. 
 
 The giant was at dinner. Peach Prince 
 struck three heavy blows on the door with 
 his club, and out came the master, roaring 
 with rage. 
 
 When he saw his three visitors he stopped 
 in astonishment. Before he could say a word, 
 the monkey ran up his back and sat on his 
 shoulders. Then he wound his legs tightly 
 about the giant's neck, and with his little 
 hands, which just fitted over the giant's eye- 
 lids, held them shut. 
 
 55 
 
The bird flew about the head of the giant, 
 pecking at him in so many places that he 
 thought a flock of crows must have come 
 from behind the house to attack him. 
 
 And now Peach Prince leaped at the giant, 
 and rained on him such a shower of blows 
 with his club that they seemed to come from 
 an army. The giant believed that there was 
 
 56 
 
magic in this sudden attack, and down he 
 tumbled on his knees and begged for mercy. 
 
 Peach Prince made the giant load all the 
 boats he had Avith all the things he had 
 stolen, and send his servants to take them 
 back to their owners. 
 
 Xow these verv servants were slaves whom 
 the giant had made captive from time to time, 
 and they were very glad to go free again. 
 While they all worked very hard loading the 
 boats, the giant stood by, looking on. He was 
 very sorry, for he knew his time had come. 
 
 His figure began to droop more and more, 
 and then to lose its great size. He became 
 smaller than Peach Prince, but he did not 
 stop there. He kept on till he was smaller 
 than the monkey, and at last smaller than 
 the bird. 
 
 As the last boat left the shore, he was 
 seen to throw up his tiny hands and disappear 
 altogether. 
 
 57 
 
JACK FROST 
 
 The door was shut, as doors should be. 
 
 Before you went to bed last night; 
 ' Yet Jack Frost has got in, you see, 
 And left your window silver white. 
 
 He must have waited till you slept; 
 
 And not a single word he spoke. 
 But penciled o'er the panes and crept 
 
 Away again before you woke. 
 
 And now you cannot see the hills 
 
 Nor fields that stretch beyond the lane; 
 
 But there are fairer things than these 
 His fingers traced on every pane : 
 
 Rocks and castles towering high ; 
 
 Hills and dales and streams and fields, 
 And knights in armor riding by^ 
 
 With nodding plumes and shining shields. 
 
 58 
 
And here are little boats, and there 
 
 Big ships with sails spread to the breeze; 
 
 And yonder, palm trees waving fair 
 On islands set in silver seas. 
 
 And butterflies with gauzy wings ; 
 
 And herds of cows and flocks of sheep ; 
 And fruits and flowers and all the things 
 
 You see when you are sound asleep. 
 
 For creeping softly underneath 
 
 The door when all the lights are out, 
 
 Jack Frost takes every breath you breathe^ 
 And knows the things you think about. 
 
 He paints them on the window pane 
 In fairy lines with frozen steam ; 
 
 And when you wake you see again 
 The lovely things you saw in dream. 
 
 Gabriel SetoijNc 
 
 59 
 
BELLING THE CAT 
 Long-Tail, chairman of meeting 
 Gray-Coat Beady-Eyes 
 Stubby-Tail Brown -Whiskers 
 Frisky-Legs Cat 
 
 AN ATTIC CLOSET 
 
 A hig gray mouse sits at a table. Sitting on the 
 floor in front of him are a number of mice of 
 different sizes. 
 
 Long- Tail : {Pounding on table with fist) Be quiet ! 
 Be quiet, I tell you ! Now will somebody 
 please tell us what we are here for. 
 
 Gray - Coat : {Rises slowly,) We have met here 
 to-day to talk over a most important mat- 
 ter. As you all know, we are no longer 
 safe in this house. There is hardly one 
 of us who has not lost some near relative 
 or friend in the last few weeks. Only 
 
yesterday one of my own brothers was 
 cruelly killed and eaten. Excuse me, my 
 friends. {Takes out handkerchief and icipes 
 his eyes.) Now, something must be done 
 about the matter. We must decide what 
 it is best to do. {Sits down,) 
 
 61 
 
Stuhhy-Tail : {Rises slowly,) Gray-Coat is right. 
 This is indeed a very sad business. I 
 myself was almost killed. As you can all 
 see, I have lost most of my beautiful 
 tail. The cruel cat bit it off, and it was 
 only by the greatest good luck that I 
 got away from her. Something must be 
 done. 
 
 Other Mice : {Speaking together.) Yes, yes ! Some- 
 thing must be done! 
 
 Long- Tail : I think we are all agreed that some- 
 thing must be done ; but the question is 
 what shall be done. Has anyone any plan 
 to offer? 
 
 Frisky-Legs : {Jumping up quickly.) I have a 
 plan ! Let's drown the cat. We can get 
 her up on the edge of the rain-barrel, and 
 then push her into the water. She 
 can't get out, and will be drowned. 
 
 Beady-Eyes : {Jumping up qtdckly.) I have a 
 better plan than that. Let's put poison 
 
into her saucer of milk. Then when she 
 has eaten it she will die. Ha, ha ! It 
 will serve her right! 
 
 Broiun- Whiskers : {Jumping itp quicMy) Oh. I 
 know something still better than either of 
 those plans. Let's fasten a bell around 
 her neck. Then when we hear her com- 
 ing we can run a way. 
 
 Other Alice: {Laurjliing cmd speaking loudhj,) Ha, 
 ha ! That's the thing to do ; the very 
 thing ! 
 
 Long- Tail: {Pounding on taUe,) Be quiet! You 
 are making too much noise. AVe are all 
 agreed that something must be done to 
 get rid of the cat, and three plans have 
 been offered. Xow what have you to say 
 about these plans ? 
 
 Frisky-Legs : I think Brown-AYhiskers' plan of 
 putting a bell on the cat's neck is much 
 better than mine. So I withdraw my plan. 
 
 Long- Tail : Frisky-Legs withdraws his plaru 
 
Beady-Eyes : {Jumping up mucli excited^ I won't 
 withdraw my plan. I think we ought to 
 kill the cat. She is a very cruel animal. 
 She has eaten many of our dear friends. 
 If we poison her she will die a painful 
 death. 
 
 64 
 
Long-Tail : Well, we shall have to vote to see 
 which of these plans we shall follow. AVe 
 will first vote on Beady-Eyes' plan. All 
 those in favor of poisoning the cat wiiJ 
 please say Ay."' 
 
 Beady-Eyes : Ay. 
 
 Long-Tail : All not in favor. 
 
 Many Mice : Xo I 
 
 Long- Tail : Beady-Eyes' plan is not adopted. 
 Xow all those in favor of Brown-Whiskers^ 
 plan of belling the cat. please say "Ay.'' 
 
 Many Mice : Ay. 
 
 Long- Tail : All not in favor. 
 
 Beady-Eyes : Xo I 
 
 Long- Tad : Brown-Whiskers' plan is adopted. 
 
 We will put a hell on the cat. 
 Many Mice : Ah. that's the thing to do ? She 
 
 won't catch any more of us I Yes. yes I 
 
 That's a fine plan 1 
 Long-Tad : {Pounding on tahle) Please he quiet! 
 
 We have decided to put a bell on the cat, 
 
 65 
 
so that we can hear her coming and run 
 away. Now the question is, Who will put 
 the bell on her? {The mice look at each other 
 and say nothing) Brown- Whiskers, it is your 
 idea. Will you put the bell on the cat? 
 
 Brown- Whiskers : Why, it seems to me that 1 
 have done my duty in oflenng a plan. 
 Somebody else ought to carry it out. 
 
 Long- Tail : Gray-Coat, will you put the bell on 
 the cdt? 
 
 Gray-Coat: Well, ahem! I'm not so young as 
 I used to be. It would be better for some 
 one younger and quicker than I to do a 
 thing like that. 
 
 Long- Tail : Well, we must find some one to do 
 it. Frisky-Legs, you are young and spry, 
 will you put the bell on the cat? 
 
 Frisky-Legs : Why, ahem ! The fact is — I am 
 very near-sighted, so I shouldn't be a very 
 good person for a piece of business like 
 that. You must really excuse me. 
 
Long- Tail : Well, well, you all want to have a 
 bell put on the cat, but none of you are 
 willing to do it. What shall we do ? 
 
 Sttibhy-Tail : {Jumping up quickly.) Run! Run! 
 Here comes the cat! Here comes the 
 cat ! {All run out in haste. The cat comes in.) 
 
 Cat: Ha, ha! They got away to-day. Next 
 time I shall be quicker. 
 
 67 
 
TAKING CARE OF SKIP 
 
 ''Fred, you take care of Skip^ and Skip^ 
 you take care of Fred." 
 
 That was what Roger Mason had said when 
 his brother and the water spaniel went to visit 
 Aunt Dorothy, at Ledge Cove, and Roger him- 
 self could not go. 
 
 Aunt Dorothy's cottage wjas on the high 
 land above a little bay, where the sea sent its 
 waves splashing against slate-blue rocks. 
 
 It was Indian summer. The birches and 
 the oaks that grew on the ledges were yellow 
 and red and brown, and the clear salt air was 
 full of the scent of autumn leaves. 
 
 When Fred w^as at Ledge Cove he always 
 liked to w^alk along the shore. He would walk 
 away out round the sharp end of Gull Point, 
 and down the other side, until he reached a 
 place where he could cut back through the 
 
 68 
 
woods and fields to the cottage. Along the 
 shore, close to the water, he was always able 
 to find bright shells and colored stones. 
 
 Saturday morning: after breakfast. Fred 
 whistled to the spaniel, and told Aunt Dorothy 
 that he was going down towards the point to 
 look for shells. 
 
 69 
 
The boy and the dog took the path that 
 led down the ledges, and in three minutes 
 they were close to the water. There seemed 
 to be more than the usual number of inter- 
 esting things that morning. Every other poolj 
 in the rocks held a brownish-gray crab or a 
 pink-and-white starfish. There were so many 
 shells that Fred had soon filled his pockets. 
 Then he emptied them, kept the prettiest shells, 
 and threw the others away. For he was find- 
 ing beautiful ones at every half a dozen steps 
 along the path. 
 
 Close to the ledges the rocks were piled up 
 topsy-turvy, just as if a giant had come along 
 with a huge club and knocked them down 
 from the low cliff. Most of the way they ex- 
 tended down into the water, and were covered 
 with brown kelp and white barnacles and green 
 seaweed. 
 
 Skip was in and out of the water, explor- 
 ing caves, sniffing at a crab, or swimming 
 
 70 
 
across a ])ool. All the time he was enjoying 
 himself so much that he never ceased to wag 
 his tail. 
 
 And then something happened. Suddenly 
 a slim little animal, broTrnish-black and twice 
 as large as a squirrel^ ran out from a crevice 
 in the rocks. It was a mink, and. like Fred 
 and the spaniel, he also was trying to find 
 interesting things along the shore. Skip gave 
 an excited bark, and was after him in a 
 second. 
 
 The chase led down close to the waves, 
 through a green pool and into the rocks. 
 With a shrill little squeal, the mink plunged 
 through a narrow hole, and, to Fred's surprise, 
 Skip squeezed in after him. The sound of 
 splashing water and the spaniel's excited barks 
 came from the rock pile. 
 
 When Fred reached the hole and peered 
 
 in, neither the dog nor the mink could be 
 
 seen, but the splashing and barking continued. 
 
 71 
 
He started to climb over the three-cornered 
 rock that lay above the hole. Perhaps, on the 
 other side, he would find a larger opening. 
 
 He had no more than got his feet on the 
 rock, however, than it tipped a little and moved 
 downward. Fred leaped to a weed-covered 
 boulder, and then looked back. The rock had 
 slid into a new position, so that now it almost 
 closed the hole where Skip had entered. 
 
 Fred walked round the pile, but there was 
 no other opening. He whistled, and the sound 
 of a muffled bark came to him. The spaniel 
 was still inside, and he could not get out. 
 There was no doubt of that, for he did not 
 appear when Fred cried, Come here. Skip ! " 
 The mink had gone. Doubtless he had escaped 
 by some small crevice. 
 
 Fred circled the rocks, and came again to 
 the little hole where Skip had entered. It 
 was now scarcely large enough for him to get 
 his hand through. He could see Skip's eyes 
 
 72 
 
shining, and when he thrust in his arm he 
 felt a warm, moist tongue hcking his fingers. 
 
 The rock that had moved was not large, 
 but it looked heavy. The boy withdrew his 
 arm from the hole, got a grip on the edge, 
 and lifted. It did not stir. Putting the fingers 
 of one hand into the crevice on the right, he 
 tried again, but the rock did not move. 
 
 As Fred straightened up, a wave came swirl- 
 ing in over the tops of his shoes. For the first 
 time he thought of the tide. It was coming 
 in fast, and would soon cover with its foamy 
 waves the rock pile where Skip was trapped. 
 There was no time to go for help ; it was half a 
 mile back to Aunt Dorothy's. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, some one might be walking in the fields 
 above the ledges. He climbed upward, and 
 gazed in all directions. Not a person was to 
 be seen. He shouted, but no one answered. 
 
 Hurriedly Fred scrambled down again. The 
 incoming waves were now washing against the 
 
 74 
 
rock pile, and Skip was at the hole, trjdng to 
 peer out. There was seaweed on the tip of 
 his nose, but Fred could not laugh ; instead, 
 tears came into his eyes. There was his pet, 
 his companion in many adventures, caught in 
 a little rocky cavern, and about to drown with- 
 out a chance to fight for his life. 
 
 Fred stood in the water and again tried to 
 lift the rock, but all his efforts were in vain. 
 He looked up and down the shore, searching 
 for something, he knew not what, to aid him. 
 Inside the hole, there were steady splashing 
 sounds. Skip must be swimming to keep him- 
 self up. Once he barked and whined a little, 
 just as he did at home when he wished to 
 come into the house. 
 
 The sound was too much for Fred. He 
 turned away and walked up the rocky beach, 
 where he could not hear it. Eoger had told 
 him to take care of Skip, and now he would 
 be going home without him. 
 
 75 
 
Then something caught in the rocks at- 
 tracted Fred's eve ; it was the handle of a 
 broken oar. A new hope came to him. He 
 seized the short piece of wood^ and ran back 
 to the rock pile. As he reached it a wave 
 covered the top of it, and then surged back. 
 The splashing sound in the cavern had ceased. 
 NOy there it was again — ^very faint. 
 
 The water was up to Fred's waist when he 
 jumped down beside the hole. In frantic 
 haste he thrust the oar handle into the open- 
 ing and pried upward. The rock moved ! He 
 pried harder. It tilted back sharply, and stayed 
 in its new place. 
 
 Fred thrust his arm into the widened open- 
 ing. A wave came up among the rocks and 
 almost upset him, but somehow he held his 
 position, and groped about in the cavern until 
 his hand touched a wet, furry body. In an- 
 other moment he had Skip out, and was 
 splashing through the pools towards the ledges. 
 
 76 
 
The water spaniel's eyes were shut, and he 
 did not move in his master s arms. 
 
 Fred chmbed out to the field, however, and 
 rubbed the little dog almost dry with his coat. 
 Then he held him up by the hind legs to let 
 the salt water run out of his mouth. After 
 he had rubbed him some more. Skip opened 
 his eyes and feebly wagged his tail. 
 
 A little later Fred and Skip started back 
 for Aunt Dorothy's. Both were happy, but 
 the little water spaniel was not running and 
 jumping^about as usual. He was snuggled 
 comfortably in Fred's arms, contented enough 
 
 to rest for a while. 
 
 Clayton H. Ernst. 
 
 77 
 
ORPHEUS, THE GREAT MUSICIAN 
 
 Long, long ago, in the land of Greece, lived 
 Orpheus,! the son of the goddess of song. His 
 voice was so sweet, and he played the lyre so 
 beautifully, that his fame as a musician spread 
 over all the earth. It was said that his music 
 could move rocks and trees, and that even 
 the birds would stop singing when he played. 
 It was said, also, that the fishes would come 
 to the surface of the sea to listen to him, and 
 that even the wildest beasts would lie down 
 tamely at his feet, when they heard his music. 
 
 Now Orpheus had a wife named Eurydice.^ 
 
 1 or' fus. ^ u rid' i se. 
 
 78 
 
She was very good and very beautiful. They 
 hved happily together for some years. But 
 one day while she was picking flowers, she was 
 bitten by a poisonous snake and died. 
 
 Poor Orpheus was crushed with grief He 
 wandered off into deep forests and wild des- 
 erts, mourning night and day for Eurydice. 
 Nobody could console him. At last he felt 
 that he could not stand his grief any longer. 
 So he decided to go down into Hades,^ the 
 place to which all the dead were taken, and 
 ask Kino: Pluto to 2:iye Eurydice back to him. 
 
 He took his lyre, and, playing and singing 
 as he went, he made his way down under 
 the earth to Hades. His music was so beau- 
 tiful that everyone was charmed by it. Even 
 Cerberus,2 the fierce, three-headed dog that 
 guarded the gates of Hades, forgot to bark, 
 and crouched at his feet as he passed. 
 
 At last Orpheus came before the throne of 
 
 ^ ha' dez. ^ sur' ber us. 
 
 79 
 
Pluto, King of HadeSj and his pale-faced queen. 
 Persephone. 1 Then he begged them to send 
 Eurydice back to him. ''Why should she die 
 so young and so beautiful ? " he cried. Have 
 pity on me and send her back. I cannot live 
 without her." 
 
 Pluto and Persephone were usually very 
 cold-hearted. They were used to having people 
 ask to have their loved ones sent back to 
 the world again. But the beautiful music of 
 Orpheus softened even their hard hearts. They 
 called the spirit of Eurydice, and told Orpheus 
 that she should follow him up out of Hades. 
 
 " She shall go back to the light of the sun 
 once more/' said they. ''She shall look again 
 upon the lovely sky and smiling fields, and 
 breathe once more the soft, warm air of the 
 upper earth. But remember this : you must 
 not look back at her until you reach the upper 
 world^ again. If you do she will have to 
 
 per sef 5 ne. 
 80 
 
return, and you can never see her again in 
 the land of the hving.'' 
 
 Orpheus was filled with joy. He thanked 
 Pluto and set out on his way to the upper 
 world. Eurydice followed close behind. On, 
 on they went, leaving Hades farther and farther 
 behind. But soon Orpheus began to feel anx- 
 
 81 
 
lous. He could hear no sound of footsteps 
 behind him. Was Eurydice really following? 
 
 At last he could wait no longer. He turned 
 his head and looked back. Yes, there she was. 
 But as he looked she began to draw back. 
 She reached out her arms to him. Orpheus, 
 filled with terror, rushed back to take her in 
 his arms. But it was no use. He had dis- 
 obeyed Pluto's command. Eurydice faded out 
 of sight, and Orpheus was once more alone. 
 
 Orpheus did not stop trying to win back 
 his beautiful wife even then. Again he went 
 back to Hades, and this time he got as far 
 as the River Styx,i which flows about the world 
 of the dead. But he could not get across. 
 For seven days and seven nights he stayed 
 there without food or drink, weeping and 
 mourning for his lost Eurydice. But the will 
 of the gods could not be shaken, and he had 
 to go back to the upper earth alone. 
 
 ^ stiks. 
 82 
 
Orpheus no longer wished to hve. He 
 wandered about m the fields and woods, 
 mourning for Eurvdice and singing sad songs 
 day and night. 
 
 One day while he was sitting under a tree 
 playing upon his lyre, a crowd of half-craz}" 
 women came up and asked him to play for 
 them. When he refused they became very 
 angry, and treated him so roughly that he died. 
 His Ivre was thrown into the sea, and made 
 sweet music as it rose and fell in the waves. 
 
 The troubles of poor Orpheus were over at 
 last. After his death his spirit went to the 
 Land of the Blessed. There he found his 
 beloved Eurydice, and lived with her happily 
 ever afterwards. 
 
 83 
 
HIAWATHA'S FRIENDS 
 
 Then the httle Hiawatha 
 Learned of every bird its language, 
 Learned their names and all their secrets, 
 How they built their nests in summer, 
 Where they hid themselves in winter, 
 Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
 Called them ''Hiawatha's Chickens." 
 
 Of all beasts he learned the language. 
 Learned their names and all their secrets, 
 How the beavers built their lodges, 
 Where the squirrels hid their acorns. 
 How the reindeer ran so swiftly. 
 Why the rabbit was so timid, 
 Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
 Called them ''Hiawatha's Brothers." 
 
 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
 84 
 
HOW THE DUCKS GOT THEIR FINE 
 
 FEATHERS 
 
 In the bright moonhght the dead leaves 
 fell, whenever the wind shook the trees. Over 
 the village passed great flocks of dueks and 
 geese, calling to each other as they sped away 
 towards the waters that never freeze. 
 
 In the lodge War Eagle waited for his 
 grandchildren. When they came in, he laid 
 aside his pipe and said: 
 
 ''The Duck-people are travelling to-night, 
 just as they have done since the world was 
 young. They are going away from winter, be- 
 cause they cannot make a living when ice 
 covers the rivers. 
 
 "You have seen the Duck-people often. 
 You have noticed that they wear fine clothes, 
 but you do not know how they got them. 
 So I will tell you to-night. 
 
 86 
 
It was in the fall^ when leaves are yellow, 
 and long, long ago. The Duck-people had 
 gathered to go away, just as they are doing 
 now. The buck-deer were coming down from 
 the high ridges to visit friends in the low- 
 lands along the streams, as they have always 
 done. 
 
 On a lake Old-man saw the Duck-people 
 getting ready to go away. At that time they 
 all looked alike ; that is, they all wore the 
 same-colored clothes. The loons and the 
 geese and the ducks were there, and playing 
 in the sunlight. The loons were laughing 
 loudly, and the diving was fast and merry to 
 see. 
 
 On the hill where Old-man stood there 
 'was a great deal of moss. He began to tear 
 up some of it from the ground, and roll it 
 into a great ball. When he had gathered all 
 he needed, he set out with it for the shore 
 of the lake. When the Duck-people saw him 
 
 87 
 
coming with his load of moss^ they began to 
 swim away from the shore. 
 
 ' Wait, my brothers V he called. ' I have 
 a big load here^ and I am going to give you 
 people a dance. Come and help me get things 
 ready.' 
 
 " ' Don't you do it/ said the gray goose to 
 the others. ' That's Old-man, and he is up to 
 something bad, I am sure.' 
 
 So the loon called to Old-man and said 
 they wouldn't help him at all. 
 
 Right near the water Old-man dropped 
 his ball of moss, and then cut twenty long 
 poles. With the poles he built a lodge. He 
 covered it with the moss, leaving a doorway 
 facing the lake. Inside the lodge he built a 
 fire, and when it grew bright he cried : 
 
 ' Say, brothers, why should you treat me 
 this way, when I am here to give you a big 
 dance ? Come into the lodge ' ; but they would 
 not do it. 
 
 88 
 
''Finally, Olcl-man began to sing a song in 
 the cluck-talk, and keep time with his drum. 
 The Duck-people liked the music, and swam 
 a little nearer to the shore. They were watch- 
 ing for trouble all the time, but Old-man sang 
 so sweetly that pretty soon they waddled up 
 to the lodge and went inside. 
 
 The loon stopped near the door. He be- 
 lieved that what the gray goose had said was 
 
 89 
 
true, and that Old-man was up to some mis- 
 chief. The gray goose, too, was careful to stay 
 close to the door, but the ducks reached all 
 about the fire. 
 
 Then Old-man passed the pipe, and they 
 all smoked with him. It is wrong not to smoke 
 in a person's lodge if the pipe is offered, and 
 the Duck-people knew that. 
 
 ' Well/ said Old-man, ' this is going to be 
 the Blind-dance, but you will have to be painted 
 first' 
 
 ' Brother Mallard, name the colors— tell 
 me how you want me to paint you.' 
 
 ' Well,' said the mallard drake, ' paint my 
 head green, and put a white circle around my 
 throat, like a necklace. Besides that, I want 
 a brown breast and yellow legs ; but I don't 
 want my wife painted that way.' 
 
 Old-man painted him just as he asked, 
 and his wife, too. Then the teal and the 
 wood-duck (it took a long time to paint th^ 
 
 90 
 
wood-duck), and the spoon-bill, and the blue- 
 bill, and the canvasback, and the goose, and 
 the brant, and the loon — all chose their paint. 
 
 ''Old-man painted them all just as they 
 wanted him to paint them, and kept singing 
 all the time. They looked very pretty in the 
 firelight, for it was night before the painting 
 was done. 
 
 '''Xow,' said Old-man, 'this is the Blind- 
 dance. AYhen I beat upon my drum you must 
 all shut your eyes tight, and circle round the 
 fire as I sing. Everyone that peeks will have 
 i^ore eyes forever.' 
 
 " Then the Duck-people shut their eyes, and 
 Old-man began to sing : ' Xow you come, ducks, 
 now you come — tum-tum, tum ; tum-tum, tum/ 
 
 " Around the fire they came, with their eyes 
 still shut. As fast as they reached Old-man, 
 the rascal would seize them and wring their 
 necks. Ho ! Things were going fine for Old- 
 man. But the loon peeked a little and saw 
 
 R1 
 
what was going on. Several others heard the 
 fluttering, and opened their eyes, too. 
 
 " Then the loon cried out, ' He's killing 
 us — ^let us fly,' and they did so. There was a 
 great squawking and quacking and fluttering, 
 as the Duck-people left the lodge. Ho ! But 
 Old-man was angry, and he kicked the hack of 
 the loon-duck. That is why his feet turn from 
 his body, when he walks or tries to stand. 
 Yes, that is why he is a cripple to-day. 
 
 "And all of the Duck-people that peeked 
 that night at the dance still have sore eyes — 
 just as Old-man told them they would have. 
 Of course, they don't hurt and smart any 
 more, but they stay red to pay for peeking, 
 and always will. You have seen the mallard 
 and the rest of the Duck-people. You can see 
 that the colors Old-man painted so long ago 
 are still bright and handsome. They will stay 
 that wav forever and forever. Ho ! " 
 
 Frank B. Linderman (adapted). 
 92 
 
HOW THOR'S HAMMER WAS FOUXD 
 
 Thor, the great thunder god of Asgard. was 
 very angry. His stiff hair and beard stood on 
 end. His eyes flashed. He caUed to his serv- 
 ants with a voice hke the crash of a trumpet. 
 He stamped so hard on the floor of his palace 
 that all Asgard shook as from an earthquake. 
 Poor Sifj Thor's wife, tried to quiet him, but 
 it was no use, 
 
 93 
 
After a while Loki, the mischief-maker, 
 heard the noise, and stopped at Thor's palace 
 to ask what was the matter. 
 
 Matter enough ! " cried Thor angrily. " I 
 have lost my hammer." 
 
 " Lost your hammer ! said Loki. Well, 
 that is trouble indeed.'' 
 
 Loki was right. It was no small matter for 
 Thor to lose his hammer. For Thor's ham- 
 mer was a magic one, and the mightiest in 
 the whole world. Nothing could stand against 
 it. With one blow of that hammer Thor could 
 split in two great mountains. 
 
 I can't imagine where my hammer can be," 
 said Thor. ''I have looked everywhere for it." 
 
 ''Perhaps somebody has stolen it," said 
 Loki. 
 
 Thor frowned and closed his fists tightly. 
 *'You must help me to find it, Loki," he said. 
 
 " Of course I will," said Loki. For, though 
 he was a great mischief-maker himself, he 
 
 94 
 
really felt sorry for Thor. He felt a little 
 frightened, too, for what would the gods of 
 Asgard do without Thor's wonderful hammer 
 to help them against the giants? So Loki 
 began to think how he could help Thor out 
 of his trouble. 
 
 After a while, Loki noticed that a great 
 hubbub was going on away down below As- 
 gard. There was thunder and lightning and 
 rain and wind, all mixed up together. It wasn't 
 the kind of storm that Thor would have stirred 
 up at all. So he began to look a little closer. 
 
 Soon he saw that the center of the trouble 
 was a hill in Giantland. There was Thrym, 
 the great frost giant, with Thor's hammer, 
 doing his best to imitate the thunder god. 
 He was making a bad mess of it. He could 
 make the thunder and lightning, but he 
 couldn't manage it at all. 
 
 When Thor heard that Thrym had his 
 hammer, he was more angry than ever. 
 
 95 
 
The rascal ! he shouted. How did he 
 dare to steal my hammer? I'll teach him a 
 lesson!" And he was about to rush off to 
 Giantland at once. 
 
 "Wait! Wait! Not so fast!" said Loki. 
 ''He is stronger than you^ now that he has 
 your hammer. You must get it away from 
 him by a trick of some sort." 
 
 Thor was so angry that he didn't want to 
 wait. But he knew that Loki was right. 
 
 "Well/' said he, ''what shall we do?" 
 
 Loki thought a moment. " I will ask Freya 
 to lend me her falcon plumes/' said he. 
 " Then I will go down and see Thrym myself. 
 Perhaps I can get your hammer." 
 
 Now, Freya was a very kind goddess, and 
 , when Loki told her why he wanted her falcon 
 plumes, she gladly lent them to him. So Loki 
 put them on and set out. " Thrym will not 
 know me now," he said. 
 
 It was a long, lonely road to Giantland, 
 
 96 
 
but Loki reached there safely. He soon found 
 the giant, and ht as near hmi as he dared. 
 
 Xo^' Thryni knew hhn at once in spite of 
 his falcon plumes. 
 
 " Why, heUo, Loki ! " he called. " What are 
 you doing down here ? Aren't you a long way 
 from home ? 
 
 ''Ah! " said Loki. 'We are all feeling very 
 
 97 
 
badly in Asgard because of Thor's hammer. 
 It must have been a clever fellow who got it 
 away from him. Nobody but you could have 
 done thatj Thrym." 
 
 Thrym was greatly pleased at Loki's words. 
 He nodded his head and laughed. "Yes/' he 
 said, ''I stole it, and now I am going to show 
 the gods how to use it.'' 
 
 Ah ! You're a bright fellow, Thrym," said 
 Loki. ''But what d6 you need of a hammer? 
 Thor, of course, needs his hammer. He can 
 do little without it. Give it back to him, so 
 that we may hear no more of his crying." 
 
 "No, no, Loki," said Thrym. "You can't 
 fool me that way. I have the hammer now, 
 and I mean to keep it unless" — and the big 
 giant stopped a minute — "unless the gods of 
 Asgard will send me the beautiful Freya for 
 my wife." 
 
 Now Loki could hardly help laughing at 
 the idea of Freya's being Thrym's wife. Freya 
 
 98 
 
Tras one of the fairest goddesses of Asgard. 
 and a great favorite. The gods Trould never 
 think of giving her to the frost giant. But 
 Thrym would listen to no other plan, so after 
 a while Loki promised to see what he could 
 do. and set off for Asgard. 
 
 On reaching home. Loki first told Thor 
 about his visit. The thunder god wavS so 
 angry that he wanted to go down to Giant- 
 land himself and take the hammer away from 
 Thrym. But Loki at length made him promise 
 not to do so. and then went to see Freya. 
 
 He found the beautiful goddess wallving in 
 her garden, wearing her famous necklace of 
 stars. When she heard that the frost giant 
 wanted her for his wife she was verv anaTv. 
 
 I would never marry that big. ugly giant ; 
 no. never I " she cried, and she broke her 
 beautiful necklace of stars, so that they went 
 falling through the sky in all dn^ections. 
 
 Xow the gods felt very much upset. They 
 
 99 
 
loved Freya too much to make her unhappy. 
 Yet it would not be safe to let Thrym keep 
 Thor's hammer. Asgard must be protected 
 from the great frost giants, and Thor's magic 
 hammer was its best defence. 
 
 While the gods were wondering what to 
 do, Heimdall stepped up. He was the watch- 
 man at the Eainbow Bridge, which leads out 
 of Asgard. 
 
 I have a plan/' said he. Let us dress 
 up Thor in Freya's clothes, put a veil over 
 bis face, and let him go down to Thrym's 
 castle as the bride. Perhaps he can get hold 
 of the hammer while he is there." 
 
 All the gods except Thor thought this was 
 a good plan. The big thunder god did not 
 like the idea of dressing up as a woman. How-i, 
 ever^, nobody could think of a better plan, 
 so it was at last decided to do as Heimdall 
 said. 
 
 Now all the goddesses set to work to make 
 
 100 
 
Thor look like the beautiful Freya. By good 
 luck she was very tall,, so it was not a hard 
 matter to fit one of her robes over Thor, 
 Then they carefully brushed and curled Thor's 
 hair, and placed a jeweled head-dress upon it. 
 And to cover up Thor's beard they fastened 
 a hea^y veil over his face. Then around his 
 neck they hung the beautiful necklace of stars, 
 that had now been restrung. When all was 
 
 101 
 
done, Thor looked for all the world like a tall, 
 beautiful goddess. 
 
 Loki was very much amused. He laughed 
 at Thor's appearance. 
 
 ''All you need now is a maid/' said he. 
 ''Let me dress up, too, and go along with 
 you. I will help you to get the hammer.'' 
 
 To tell the truth, Thor was glad to have 
 Loki go with him. He knew very well that 
 he should find it hard to act the part of the 
 bride. 
 
 So Loki was dressed up as a maid-servant, 
 and they both got into Thor's goat-car and 
 drove off. Away they went, dashing over the 
 ground, the hoofs of the goats striking off 
 bright sparks against the rocks by the wayside. 
 
 It did not take them long to reach Giant- 
 land, and as they drew near they could see 
 Thrym himself waiting to greet them. The 
 great giant was very much excited. He lool^ed 
 at Thor's tall form. " Oh, what a tine, tall 
 
 102 
 
maiden she is ! " he said to himself. She is 
 just the wife for me." 
 
 Meanwhile a splendid banquet had been 
 prepared, and a great many giants had come 
 to welcome Thrym's bride. There were all 
 kinds of good things to eat. There were great 
 dishes of roasted oxen and salmon, and plenty 
 of cakes and sweetmeats for the ladies. 
 
 Thor was seated on a throne beside Thrym, 
 and Loki stood behind his chair. 
 
 Now, the giants thought that the fair bride 
 would not eat much, so they had placed be- 
 fore Thor only a few dainty dishes. But Thor's 
 long ride had made him very hungry. He 
 reached over and took a great dish of roasted 
 ox that lay on the table and ate it all up. 
 Then he picked up several big roasted salmon 
 and ate them, too. After that he ate several 
 platefuls of cakes and sweetmeats. Then, feel- 
 ing thirsty, he picked up two big barrels of 
 mead, and drank them off, one after another. 
 
 103 
 
Meanwhile Thrym had watched Thor with 
 surprise. Surely no maiden ever ate like that. 
 But Loki leaned over and told him in a 
 whisper that Freya had been so excited at the 
 thought of her* marriage that she had eaten 
 nothing for eight days. 
 
 Thrym smiled. Ah ! Quite like a maiden/' 
 said he. 
 
 Then he went over to his bride^ and tried 
 to lift her veil and kiss her. But Thor glared 
 at him so fiercely that he drew back, startled. * 
 
 ''Why do Freya's eyes burn so fiercely?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " Oh/' said Loki in a whisper, that is be- 
 cause she loves you so.'' 
 
 104 
 
This made Thrym still more happy, and 
 he called: ••Bring in Thor's hammer, my wed- 
 ding-gift. AYhen I have placed it in her lap 
 she shall be mine forever, then together we 
 vrill work evil against the gods of Asgard," 
 
 Presently several servants came in. bending 
 under the weight of the mighty hammer. 
 ''Here;" said Thrym. passing it to her. "take 
 this for thy wedding-gift, fair Freya." 
 
 " And take that for thine I shouted Thor, 
 rising. Swinging the mighty hammer, he struck 
 Thrym to the earth. Swinging it a second 
 time, he struck down all of the giants at the 
 banquet. Still a third time he swung it= and 
 this time the palace itself came tumbling down 
 about Thor and Loki. 
 
 '•'Xow. Loki." said Thor. ■•'that business is 
 well over. I have my mighty hammer, and I 
 am Thor. the thunder god, once more.'' 
 
 105 
 
KRISS KRINGLE 
 
 Just as the moon was fading 
 
 Amid her misty rings, 
 And every stocking was stuffed 
 
 With childhood's precious things, 
 Old Kriss Kringle looked around, 
 
 And saw on the elm-tree bough, 
 High hung, an oriole's nest, 
 
 Lonely and empty now. 
 
 Quite a stocking," he laughed, 
 
 ''Hung up there on a tree! 
 I didn't suppose the birds 
 
 Expected a present from me ! " 
 Then old Kriss Kringle, who loves 
 
 A joke as well as the best. 
 Dropped a handful of snowflakes 
 
 Into the oriole's empty nest. 
 
 Thomas Bailey Aldrich. 
 
 106 
 
THE AXTS' MOXDAY DIXXER 
 I 
 
 How did I know what the ants had for 
 dmner last Monday? It is odd that I should 
 have known, but I will tell you how it hap- 
 pened. 
 
 I was sitting under a big pine-tree, high 
 up on a hillside, in Colorado, more than 
 seven thousand feet above the sea. I had 
 been watching the great mountains with their 
 snowy caps, and the forest of pine-trees — 
 miles of them — so close together that it looked 
 as if you could lie down on their tops and 
 not fall through. 
 
 My eyes were tired of looking at things so 
 great and grand, and so many miles away. So 
 I looked down on the ground where I was 
 sitting, and watched some ants that were run- 
 ning about. They were as restless and busy 
 
 107 
 
as if they had the whole world on their 
 shoulders. 
 
 Suddenly I saw, under a tuft of grass, a 
 tiny yellow caterpillar, which seemed to be 
 bounding along in a very strange way. In a 
 second more I saw an ant seize him and drag 
 him off. The caterpillar was three times as 
 long as the ant, and his body was more than 
 twice as large round as the biggest part of 
 the ant's body. 
 
 Ho, ho ! Mr. Ant,'^ said I, " you needn't 
 think you are strong enough to drag that 
 fellow very far.'' 
 
 It was about the same thing as if you or 
 I should drag a heifer that was kicking and 
 struggling all the time ; only a heifer hasn't 
 half as many legs with which to catch hold 
 of things as the caterpillar had. 
 
 Poor caterpillar! How he did try to get 
 away! But the ant never gave him a second's 
 time to take a good grip on anything; and 
 
 108 
 
he was cunning enough, too, to drag him on his 
 side, so that he couldn't use his legs very well. 
 
 Up and down, under and over sticks and 
 stones, in and out of tufts of grass ; up to 
 the very tops of the tallest blades, and then 
 down again ; over gravel and sand, and across 
 
 109 
 
bridges and pine-needles ; from stone to stone ; 
 backward all the way — but, for all I could see, 
 just as swiftly as if he were going head fore- 
 most — ran that ant, dragging the caterpillar 
 V after him. I watched him very closely, think- 
 ing, of course, he must be making his way to 
 his house. Presently he darted up the trunk 
 of the pine-tree under which I was sitting. 
 
 " Dear me ! " said I, " ants don't live in 
 trees ! What does this mean ? " The bark of 
 the tree was broken and jagged, and full of 
 seams more than twenty times as deep as the 
 height of the ant's body. But he didn't mind ; 
 down one side and up the other he went. 
 
 I had to watch very closely not to lose 
 
 sight of him altogether. I began to think that 
 
 he was trying to kill the caterpillar ; that 
 
 perhaps he didn't mean to eat him after all. 
 
 How did I know but that some ants might 
 
 hunt caterpillars just as some men hunt deer, 
 
 for fun, and not at all because they need food ? 
 
 no 
 
If I had been sure of this, I should have 
 spoiled Mr. Ant's sport, and set the poor cat- 
 erpillar free. But I never heard of an ant's 
 being cruel, and, if it were really for dinner 
 for his family that he was working so hard, 
 I thought he ought to be helped and not 
 hindered. 
 
 II 
 
 Just then my attention was turned away 
 from him by a sharp hawk cry overhead. I 
 looked up, and there was an enormous hawk, 
 sailing round in circles, with two small birds 
 fl}dng after him. They were pouncing down 
 upon his head, then darting away, and all the 
 time makino; shrill cries of fria^ht and anQ:er. 
 
 I knew very well what that meant. Mr. 
 Hawk was trying to do some marketing for 
 his dinner. He had his eye on some little 
 birds in their nest, and the partner birds were 
 driving him away. 
 
 Ill 
 
You would scarcely believe that two birds 
 so small could drive off one so big as the 
 hawk, but they did. They seemed fairly to 
 buzz round his head, as flies do round a 
 horse's head. At last he gave up, and flew 
 
 112 
 
off so far that he vanished in the blue sky, 
 and the httle birds came skimming home 
 again into the wood. 
 
 ''Well, well/' said I, ''the little people are 
 stronger than the great ones, after all." But 
 where had my ant gone? Sure enough, I had 
 not been watching the hawk and the birds 
 for more than two minutes, but in those two 
 minutes the ant and the caterpillar had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 At last I found them — where do you think? 
 In the fold of my water-proof cloak, on which 
 I was sitting. The ant had let go the cater- 
 pillar, and was running round and round him, 
 and the caterpillar was too nearly dead to 
 stir. 
 
 I shook out the fold, and as soon as the 
 cloth lay straight and smooth, the ant fastened 
 his nippers in the caterpillar again, and started 
 off as fast as ever. 
 
 By this time the caterpillar was so limp 
 
 113 
 
and helpless, that the ant was not afraid of 
 his getting away from him; so he stopped a 
 second, now and then, to rest. Sometimes he 
 vvould spring on the caterpillar's back, and 
 stretch himself out there. Sometimes he 
 would stand still and look at him sharply, 
 keeping one nipper on his head. 
 
 It astonished me very much at first that 
 none of the ants he met took any notice of 
 him. They all went on their way, and never 
 took so much as a sniff at the caterpillar. 
 
 But soon I said to myself: ''How stupid 
 not to suppose that ants can be as well-be- 
 haved as people ! When you passed Mr. Jones 
 yesterday you didn't peep into his market- 
 basket, nor touch the big cabbage that he 
 carried under his arm.'' 
 
 Presently the ant dropped the caterpillar 
 and ran on a few steps — I mean inches — to 
 meet another ant that was coming towards 
 him. I could not hear what they said, but 
 
 114 
 
they both ran quickly back to the caterpillar. 
 One took him by the head and the other by 
 the tailj and they got along finely. 
 
 It was only a few steps to the ants' house. 
 The door was a round hole in the ground 
 about as big as my little finger. Several ants 
 were standing in the doorway watching these 
 two, as they came with the caterpillar. As 
 soon as the caterpillar was on the doorstep, 
 they all took hold of him, and almost before 
 I knew that he was there they had tumbled 
 him down, heels over head, into the ground. 
 That was the last I saw of him. 
 
 The oddest thing was that now the ants 
 came running home from all directions. I 
 don't believe there was any dinner-bell rung, 
 though there might have been one too fine 
 for my ears to hear; but in less than a 
 minute I had counted thirty-three ants run- 
 ning down that hole. I fancied that they 
 looked as hungry as wolves. 
 
 115 
 
I had a great mind to dig down into the 
 hole with a sticky to see what became of the 
 caterpillar. But I thought it would not be 
 quite fair to take the roof off a man's house, 
 to find out how he cooked his beef for dinner, i 
 So I sat still awhile and wondered whether 
 the ants would have any food left for Tues- 
 day. Then I went home to my own dinner. 
 
 Helen Hunt (adapted). 
 
 116 
 
THE CAVE OF GOLD 
 
 Once on a time, in a far-away city^ there 
 lived a man who was very, very poor. He 
 was a good man, and he worked very hard, 
 but in spite of all he could do he still re- 
 mained poor. Sometimes he hardly had 
 enough to eat. 
 
 At last he thought that perhaps he could 
 get on better in the country. So he made a 
 bundle of all his belongings and set out from 
 the city. On and on he trudged, until he 
 came to the edge of a great forest. There 
 he built a little hut, cleared some land, and 
 settled down to live. 
 
 117 
 
Now to supply himself with food the poor 
 man planted a garden with corn and melon 
 seeds. As soon as the young green shoots 
 appeared above the ground, he began to look 
 after them carefully. He pulled up the weeds, 
 and he hoed the ground, so that the plants 
 grew very rapidly. 
 
 In the forest near by there lived a great 
 many monkeys. They watched the garden 
 carefully, too. When the corn and the melons 
 got big enough to eat, the monkeys went into 
 the garden and began to help themselves. 
 But the owner of the garden did not get 
 angry, as many men would have done. He 
 remembered the days when he had gone 
 hungry himself, and let the monkeys eat all 
 they wanted. 
 
 The monkeys were surprised at this. They' 
 had never before seen a man who would let 
 them eat his corn and melons. ''He is a 
 kind, good man," they said to each other. 
 
 118 
 
"He is our real friend. Some day, perhaps, 
 we can repay him for his kindness." 
 
 One day, when the man was in his garden, 
 he lay down to rest, and as it was warm he 
 soon fell asleep. After a while, the monkeys 
 came into the garden, and seeing him lying 
 on the ground they thought he was dead. 
 
 Oh ! Oh ! they cried. " Our kind friend is 
 dead ! For a long time he has allowed us to 
 eat the good things that grew in his garden. 
 Now that he is dead we must find a good 
 place to bury him." 
 
 The man heard what the monkeys said, 
 but as he was anxious to know what they 
 would do, he remained perfectly quiet. The 
 monkeys picked him up carefully, and carried 
 him off into the forest. After a while, they 
 came to a place where two roads met. Here 
 they stopped, and one of the monkeys asked: 
 Where shall we take him now ? " 
 
 "To the cave of silver," said one monkey. 
 
 119 
 
"'No I No! To the cave of gold/^ said 
 another. 
 
 Then the chief of the monkeys decided the 
 question. " Take our friend to the cave of 
 gold/' said he. 
 
 So they carried the man deep into the 
 forest to a great cave, and there laid him 
 gently down. 
 
 When the monkeys had all gone, the man 
 sat up and looked about him. All around 
 him in the cave were heaps of gold. He had 
 never seen so much gold before. So he 
 gathered up all he could carry, and Avith it 
 hurried off home. 
 
 The poor man was now very rich. He 
 built himself a fine house, and lived in com- 
 fort and plenty. 
 
 The man's neighbors were much surprised 
 at the change in his fortunes. One of them, 
 who was an unkind, envious fellow, said to 
 him one day: "How is it that you are able 
 
 120 
 
to live so well ? You used to live very plainly 
 indeed, but now you have a better house and 
 wear better clothes than any of us." 
 
 Then the a^ood-natured man. thinkina^ to ' 
 help his neighbor, told him all about his visit 
 to the cave of gold. 
 
 Aha I said the neighbor. that is a aame 
 I can play as well as you." And he hurried 
 
 121 
 
home and planted a garden with corn and 
 melons, just as the first man had done. 
 
 After a while, when the corn and melons 
 were big enough, the monkeys came into the 
 garden and began to eat them, as they had 
 done in the other man's garden. Then one 
 day the owner of the garden lay down on the 
 ground and pretended to be dead, and after 
 a while the monkeys came and found him. 
 Thinking that he was dead, they felt very 
 sorry indeed; so they picked him up and car- 
 ried him off into the forest, just as they had 
 done with the first man. 
 
 When they came to the place where the 
 two roads met, they stopped as before, to 
 decide whether they should bury him in the 
 cave of silver or the cave of gold. 
 
 While they were disputing about it, the 
 man kept thinking: "As soon as they leave 
 me alone in the cave I will gather up all the 
 gold. Then I will make a bamboo basket, so 
 
 122 
 
that I onn carry home a great deal more 
 than my neighbor." 
 
 Just then the head monkey said : " Put him 
 into the cave of silver." 
 
 This so disappointed the man that he for- 
 got that he was supposed to be dead and cried 
 out: ''No! No! Put me into the cave of 
 gold ! " 
 
 That settled the matter. The monkeys 
 were terribly frightened. Down they dropped 
 the man, and off they ran into the woods. 
 Bruised by his fall, he picked himself up sadly 
 and went home. Owing to his greed he had 
 lost all chance to get either silver or gold. 
 Don't you think he was served just right? 
 
GOLD AND LOVE FOR DEARIE 
 
 (Cornish Lullaby) 
 
 Out on the mountain over the town. 
 
 All night long, all night long, 
 The trolls go up and the trolls go down, 
 
 Bearing their packs and singing a song; 
 And this is the song the hill-folk croon, 
 As they trudge in the light of the misty moon — 
 This is ever their dolorous tune : 
 
 Gold, gold ! ever more gold — 
 Bright red gold for dearie ! " 
 
 Deep in the hill a father delves 
 
 All night long, all night long ; 
 None but the peering, furtive elves 
 
 Sees his toil and hears his song ; 
 Merrily ever the cavern rings 
 As merrily ever his pick he swings. 
 And merrily ever this song he sings : 
 Gold, gold ! ever more gold — 
 Bright red gold for dearie ! " 
 
 124 
 
Mother is rocking thy lowly bed 
 All night long, all night long, 
 Happy to smooth thy curly head, 
 
 To hold thy hand and to sing her song: 
 Tis not of the hill-folk dwarfed and old, 
 Nor the song of thy father, stanch and bold, 
 And the burthen it beareth is not of gold: 
 
 But it's ''Love, love! nothing but love — 
 Mother's love for dearie ! " 
 
 Eugene Field. 
 
THE PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILL 
 
 Once on a time there was a man who had 
 a meadow which lay high upon the hillside. 
 In this meadow there was a barn which he 
 had built for his hay. 
 
 Now, for a year or two there hadn't been 
 much in the barn, for during Saint John's 
 eve, when the grass stood greenest and deep- 
 est, it was eaten down to the very ground. 
 In the morning it looked just as if a whole 
 drove of sheep had been there feeding on 
 the grass over night. 
 
 When this had happened twice, the man 
 grew tired of losing his hay. So, when next 
 Saint John's eve came round, he told his sons 
 that one of them must go and sleep in the barn„ 
 
 "It is too good a joke," said he, ''that my 
 grass should be eaten, root and blade, this 
 year as it has been the last two years." 
 
 Well, the eldest son was all ready to go. 
 
 127 
 
He wasn't a bit afraid. So when evening came, 
 he set off to the bam and lay down to sleep. 
 But a little later on in the night, there came 
 such a clatter and such an earthquake, that 
 the walls and the roof shook, and groaned, 
 and creaked most dreadfully. 
 
 The young man was so frightened that up 
 he jumped and took to his heels as fast as 
 he could, and he didn't once look round till 
 he reached home. As for the hay, why, it was 
 eaten up just as it had been twice before. 
 
 The next Saint John's eve the man again 
 said that one of his sons must sleep in the 
 barn. This time the second son was ready to 
 try his luck, so he lay down to sleep in the barn, 
 as his brother had done before him. But as 
 night wore on, there came a rumbling and 
 quaking of the earth worse even than on the 
 last Saint John's eve. When the young man 
 heard it he became frightened, and took to 
 his heels as though he were running a race. 
 
 128 
 
Next year it was the youngest son's turn. 
 This lad cleaned his older brothers' shoes, 
 sifted ashes, and did other dirty work about 
 the house. His brothers treated him unkindly, 
 and called him Jack the Cinder Sifter. 
 
 Now, when he began to get ready to go to 
 the barn, the two older brothers began to laugh 
 
 129 
 
at him^ saying: "Ah, you're just the man to 
 watch the hay, that you are. You have done 
 nothing all your life but sit in the ashes and 
 toast yourself by the fire/' 
 
 But Jack paid no attention to their jeers, 
 'and when evening came he went off to the 
 barn and lay down to sleep. After a time 
 the barn began to groan and creak in the 
 most dreadful way. 
 
 "Well," said he to himself, "if it doesn't 
 get Averse than this I can stand it all right." 
 
 A little while afterwards another creak and 
 another earthquake came, much greater than 
 the first. 
 
 " Oh, well," said Jack to himself, " if it doesn't 
 get worse than this I can stand it all right." 
 
 Just then there came a third rumbling and 
 a third earthquake, so that the lad was afraid 
 the walls and roof were coming down. But 
 the noise and rumbling soon stopped, and all 
 was quiet again. 
 
 130 
 
After a while. Jack heard a noise as if a 
 horse were standing just outside the barn door 
 and eating the grass. So he crept to the 
 door quietly and peeped out. Outside he saw 
 a horse feeding. So big and fat and grand a 
 horse he had never seen. By his side on the 
 grass lay a saddle and bridle, and a full suit 
 of armor for a knight, all of brass, so bright 
 that the light flashed from it like fire. 
 
 Ho, ho ! " thought the lad ; it's you, is it, 
 that eats up our hay ? Ill soon attend to you.'' 
 
 So he took the steel out of his tinder-box 
 and threw it over the horse. This cast a 
 spell over him, so that he could not stir from 
 the spot where he stood, and he became so 
 tame that the lad could do what he liked with 
 him. So Jack got on the horse's back, and 
 rode off to a place which nobody knew of, 
 and there left him. 
 
 When Jack got home, his older brothers 
 laughed and asked him how he got along. 
 
 131 
 
''Very well," said he. ''I can't think what 
 there was in the barn to make you both so 
 afraid.'' 
 
 " Is that so ! " said his brothers, " but we'll 
 soon see how you watched the meadow/' and 
 they set off to see how it looked. When they 
 got there they found the grass as deep and 
 thick as it had been the night before. 
 
 Well, the next Saint John's eve it was the 
 same story over again. Neither of the older 
 brothers dared to. watch in the barn. But 
 Jack wasn't afraid, and everything happened 
 just as it had happened the year before. First 
 there was a clatter and an earthquake, then 
 a greater clatter and another earthquake, and 
 so a third time. Only this year the earth- 
 quakes were far worse than the year before. 
 Then all at once everything was quiet, and 
 the lad heard something eating the grass out- 
 side the barn door. 
 
 So he stole to the door and peeped out, 
 
 132 
 
and what do you think he saw? Why, there 
 was another horse standing right up against 
 the wall, and chewing and champing with might 
 and main. It was far finer and fatter than 
 the horse that had come the year before, and 
 it had a saddle on its back and a bridle on 
 its neck. But, more than that, a full suit of 
 mail for a knight lay by its side, all of silver, 
 and as grand as you could wish to see. 
 ^ " Ho, ho ! " said Jack to himself, " it's you 
 
 133 
 
that gobbles up our hay, is it ? I'll soon attend 
 to you/' 
 
 So he took the steel out of his tinder-box 
 and threw it over the horse, which stood as 
 still as a lamb. Then Jack rode this horse 
 off to the same place where he kept the other 
 one, and went back home. 
 
 " Well ! " said one of his older brothers. " I 
 suppose you'll tell us there's a fine crop this 
 year up in the hayfield." 
 
 ''Yes, so there is," said Jack, and when 
 the others went to see, sure enough there 
 stood the grass, as thick and deep as it was 
 the year before. But they weren't any better 
 pleased for that. 
 
 Now, when the third Saint John's eve came 
 the two other brothers didn't care to sleep in 
 the barn and watch the grass, so away went 
 Jack again alone. The very same thing hap- 
 pened this time as had happened twice before. 
 The earthquakes came, one after the other, 
 
 134 
 
each worse than the one \Yhich went before. 
 Then aU was still, and in a little while Jack 
 heard something eating the grass outside. 
 
 So he stole to the door and peeped out, 
 and there stood a horse close outside — far, 
 far bigger and fatter than the two he had 
 taken before. 
 
 "Ho, ho!" said the lad to himself " iV^ 
 YOU, is it, that comes here eating up our hav? 
 I'll soon stop that.'' 
 
 So he took his steel out of his tinder-box 
 and threw it over the horse. In an instant 
 it stood as still as if nailed to the ground, 
 and Jack could do with it as he pleased. 
 Then he rode off with it to the hiding place 
 where he kept the other two horses and went 
 home. 
 
 When Jack got home his two brothers 
 made fun of him again, as they had done 
 before, but Jack only asked them to q:o and 
 look for themselves. And when they went, 
 
 135 
 
there stood the grass as fine and deep this 
 time as it had been twice before. 
 
 Now, the king of the country where these 
 brothers hved had a very beautiful daughter. 
 And the king had said that he would give 
 her only to the man who could ride up over 
 the hill of glass that stood close by the king's 
 palace. It was a high, high hill, as smooth 
 and slippery as ice, and not easy to ride up, 
 you may be sure. Upon the tip-top of the 
 hill the king's daughter was to sit, with three 
 golden apples in her lap. The man who 
 could ride up and carry off these golden 
 apples was to have half the kingdom and the 
 princess for his wife. 
 
 Now, the princess was so lovely that all^ 
 who saw her fell in love with her, whether* 
 they wished to do so or not. So all the princes 
 and knights who heard of her were eager to 
 win her for a wife and half the kingdom be- 
 sides. From all parts of the kingdom they 
 
 136 
 
came, riding on high-prancing horses and clad 
 in the grandest clothes, and everyone of them 
 felt sure that he was to win the princess. 
 
 When the day of the trial came, there was 
 a great crowd of princes and knights at the 
 foot of the glass hill. There was a great 
 crowd of other people, too, for everyone was 
 
 137 
 
eager to see the man who was to win the 
 princess. The two older brothers were there 
 with the rest, but they wouldn't let Jack go 
 with them. 
 
 ''We can't let you come/' they said; "you 
 
 are too dirty from cleaning our shoes and 
 
 sifting the ashes." 
 
 " Very well/' said Jack, it's all one to me.'' 
 
 Now, when the two brothers came to the 
 
 hill of glass, the princes and the knights were 
 
 hard at it, trying to ride up the hill. But it 
 
 was no use. As soon as the horses set foot 
 
 on the hill, down they slipped, and there 
 
 wasn't one who could get even a yard or two 
 
 up. And no wonder, for the hill was as 
 
 smooth as a sheet of glass and as steep as 
 
 a house wall. But all were eager to get the 
 
 princess and half of the kingdom. So they 
 
 rode and slipped, and slipped and rode, and 
 
 still it was the same old story. At last all 
 
 their horses were so weary that they could 
 
 138 
 
hardly lift a leg, so the knights had to give 
 up trying. 
 
 The king was just thinking that he would 
 have to hold a new trial the next day, when 
 all at once a strange knight rode up. He 
 had the finest horse that anyone had ever 
 seen, and he wore armor of shining brass. 
 Never had anyone seen such a splendid sight. 
 
 Then everybody called out to him to save 
 himself the trouble of trying to ride up the 
 hill, for it could not be done. But he paid 
 no attention to them, and rode straight at the 
 hill and right up it about a third of the way. 
 Then he turned and rode down again. 
 
 So handsome a knight the princess thought 
 she had never seen. While he was riding up 
 she thought : " Ah ! I hope he will ride up 
 and down the other side." When she saw 
 him turn to go down again, she threw one of 
 the golden apples after him, and it rolled 
 down into his shoe. But when he got to the 
 
 139 
 
 V 
 
bottom of the hill, he rode away so fast that 
 nobody could tell what had become of him. 
 
 That evening all the princes and knights 
 who had tried to ride up the hill had to go 
 before the king. The one who had the golden 
 apple that the princess had thrown was to 
 show it and claim his reward. But no one 
 had anything to show. One after another 
 they came before the king, but none of them 
 had the golden apple. 
 
 That same evening Jack's brothers came 
 home, too, and told all about the riding up 
 the hill of glass. Jack was much interested 
 in all that they said. 
 
 140 
 
I should like to have been there/' he said. 
 
 His brothers laughed. Oh, you would have 
 looked fine there, you dirty fellow, among so 
 many fine lords and ladies." 
 
 Next day the older brothers again set out 
 for the hill, and Jack again begged them to 
 take him with them to see the riding. But 
 they only laughed and made fun of him. 
 
 "Very well," said he, ''if I go at all, I will 
 go by myself I am not afraid." 
 
 Xow, when the brothers got to the hill 
 all the princes and knights began to ride 
 up again. But it was no use. They only 
 rode and slipped, and slipped and rode, just 
 as they had done the day before. Not one 
 could get a yard up the hill. But they kept 
 at it until their horses were so tired that 
 they couldn't stir a leg. Then they all gave 
 up. 
 
 Now, the king was just about to say that 
 there would be another trial next day, when 
 
 141 
 
a strange knight came riding up. He rode a 
 horse much bigger and finer than the one 
 the knight in brass had ridden the day before^ 
 and he had a beautiful suit of silver mail and 
 a silver saddle and bridle that shone brightly 
 in the sunlight. 
 
 Some of the knights shouted to him that 
 he might as well not try to ride up the hill 
 of glass, because it was no use. But he paid 
 no attention to them, and rode straight at 
 the hill and right up it till he was two-thirds 
 of the way to the top. Then he turned and 
 rode down again. 
 
 Now, to tell the truth, the princess liked 
 him still better than the knight in brass. She 
 sat and wished that he might be able to ride 
 up to the top and down the other side. 
 When he turned and started to go down she 
 was greatly disappointed, and threw the second 
 apple after him. Down it rolled and fell into 
 his shoe. But as soon as he got down the 
 
 142 
 
hill, he rode away so fast that nobody could 
 see what became of him. 
 
 In the evening all the knights and princes 
 who had tried to ride up the hill went in 
 before the king and the princess. But. when 
 they were asked to show the golden apple 
 that the princess had thrown, nobody could 
 show it. 
 
 The two brothers went home, as they had 
 done the day before, and told all they had 
 seen. 
 
 Oh ! said Jack, I wish I could have 
 been there, too I 
 
 The brothers laughed. You would have 
 looked verv fine there amono; so manv errand 
 lords and ladies.'' 
 
 The third day everything happened as before. 
 Jack begged to go and see the sight, but the 
 brothers only laughed and made fun of him. 
 AMien thev a^ot to the hill, there were manv 
 princes and knights trying to ride up, but 
 
 143 
 
no one could get up a single yard. At last, 
 when all the knights and princes were tired 
 of trying, everybody waited to see if the silver 
 knight would come again. But though they 
 waited a long time he didn't come. 
 
 Then all at once a knight came riding up 
 on the finest horse that anyone had ever seen. 
 He had a suit of golden mail and a golden 
 saddle and bridle, and when the sun shone 
 on him you could see him a mile off. 
 
 He rode straight at the hill and right up it, 
 as easy as nothing at all, so that the princess 
 hadn't even time to wish that he might get 
 up the whole way. As soon as he reached 
 the top, he took the third golden apple from 
 the princess's lap. Then he turned his horse 
 and rode down again. As soon as he got 
 down, he rode off at full speed, and was soon 
 out of sight. 
 
 Now, when the brothers got home that night, 
 you may be sure they told great stories of 
 
 144 
 
what had happened at the hill that day. They 
 had a great deal to say about the knight in 
 golden mail. 
 
 He was a fine rider ! " they said. So 
 grand a knight isn't to be found in the wide 
 world.'' 
 
 ^^Oh!" said Jack, ^^how I should like to 
 have seen him ! " 
 
 "You would have looked fine, you dirty 
 fellow/' said they, " among all those grand 
 lords and ladies." 
 
 145 
 
Next day all the knights and princes were 
 to pass before the king and the princess^ so 
 that he who had the golden apple might show 
 it. One came after another, first the princes 
 and then the knights, and still none could 
 show the golden apple. 
 
 " Well/' said the king, some one must 
 have it, for we all saw with our own eyes how 
 a man came and rode up and bore it off." 
 
 So he commanded that everyone in the 
 kingdom should come to the palace and see 
 if he could show the apple. So they all came, 
 one after another, but no one had the golden 
 apple. After a time the two brothers of Jack 
 came. They were the last of all, so the king 
 asked them if there was no one else in the 
 kingdom who hadn't come. 
 
 Oh, yes ! " said they. We have a brother, 
 but he couldn't have carried off the golden 
 apple. He hasn't left the chimney corner 
 during the last three days." 
 
 146 
 
''Xever mind that/' said the king, ''he may 
 as well come up to the palace like the rest.'' 
 
 So Jack had to go up to the palace. 
 
 ''How now/' said the king, "have you got 
 the golden apples ? Speak out ! " 
 
 "Yes, I have," said Jack. "Here is the 
 first; and here is the secondhand there is the 
 third, too." With that he pulled all three 
 golden apples out of his pockets. Then, throw- 
 ing off his old dirty clothes, he stood before 
 them in shining golden mail. 
 
 "Well," said the king, "you shall have my 
 daughter and half of my kingdom. You well 
 deserve them both." 
 
 So they made ready for the wedding, and 
 Jack got the princess for his wife. There was 
 great merry-making at- the bridal feast, you 
 may be sure, for they could all be merry, even 
 if they couldn't ride up the hill of glass. 
 
 147 
 
THE NIGHT WIND 
 
 Have you ever heard the wind go " Yooooo " ? 
 
 'Tis a pitiful sound to hear! 
 It seems to chill you through and through 
 
 With a strange and speechless fear. 
 'Tis the voice of the night that broods outside 
 
 When folk should be asleep, 
 And many and many's the time I've cried 
 To the darkness brooding far and wide 
 
 Over the land and the deep : 
 ''Whom do you want, O lonely night, 
 
 That you wail the long hours through?" 
 And the night would say in its ghostly way: 
 
 Yoooooooo ! 
 Yoooooooo ! 
 Yoooooooo ! " 
 
 148 
 
My mother told me long ago 
 (When I was a little tad) 
 
 That when the night went wailing 
 Somebody had been bad ; 
 
 149 
 
And then, when I was snug in bed, 
 
 Whither I had been sent, 
 With the blankets pulled up round my head, 
 I'd think of what my mothered said, 
 
 And wonder what boy she meant! 
 And ''Who's been bad to-day?^' I'd ask 
 
 150 
 
Of the wind that hoarsely blew, 
 And the voice would say in its meaningful way : 
 
 ''Yoooooooo! 
 Yoooooooo ! 
 Yoooooooo ! 
 
 That this was true I must allow — 
 
 You'll not belieye it, though! 
 Yes, though I'm quite a model now, 
 
 I was not always so. 
 And if you doubt what things I say, 
 
 Suppose you make the test ; 
 Suppose, when you'ye been bad some day 
 And up to bed are sent away 
 
 From mother and the rest — 
 Suppose you ask, Who has been bad ? 
 
 And then you'll hear what's true ; 
 For the wind will moan in its ruefullest tone: 
 
 ''Yoooooooo! 
 Yoooooooo ! 
 Yoooooooo I " 
 
 Eugene Field. 
 
 151 
 
A GEEAT AND WISE KING 
 
 Many, many years ago, in a far away 
 country called Judea, there lived a king named 
 Solomon. He was the wisest king that ever 
 lived. He was so wise that even now to say 
 that a man is as wise as Solomon, is the 
 highest praise we can give. 
 
 When Solomon first became king, he 
 dreamed that God appeared to him, and 
 promised to give him anything that he 
 wanted. Instead of asking for riches, fame, 
 or power, as many men would have done, 
 Solomon asked for wisdom to rule his people 
 rightly. 
 
 ''I am but as a little child," said he. ''Give 
 me an understanding heart to judge my peo- 
 ple, that I may know the good from the bad.'' 
 
 And God was pleased with Solomon, and 
 gave him what he asked for, saying: "Because 
 
 152 
 
thou hast not asked for thyself long life, nor 
 riches, nor the life of thine enemies, behold 
 I have done according to thy words. I have 
 given thee a Tvise and understanding heart, 
 so that there was none like thee before thee, 
 neither after thee shall any arise like unto 
 thee. And I have also given thee that which 
 thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; 
 so that there shall not be any among the 
 kings like unto thee all thy days.'' 
 
 153 
 
It came to pass as God had promised in 
 the dream. Solomon's power became greater 
 and greater^ and his fame for wisdom and 
 wealth spread all over the earth. Many stories 
 are told to show how wise he was. 
 
 Once on a time, it is said that two women 
 came before Solomon with a little child. Each 
 claimed it as her own. Only one of the 
 
 154 
 
women could be the rightful mother, but 
 coulcl the king tell which one it was ? ALl 
 of Solomon's ministers waited eagerly to see 
 what the king would say. First he listened 
 carefully to the women's story, then he said 
 to a servant: ''Bring me a sword. Xow/' 
 said he, cut the child in two and give half 
 to each of the women." 
 
 At these words the rightful mother cried 
 out with fear, saying : '' Spare my child, 0 
 King ! Spare my child ! Take him from me, 
 if thou wilt, but let him live ! " 
 
 Then the king knew that she was the 
 rightful mother, and ordered the child to be 
 given to her. 
 
 Solomon's reign was most magnificent. His 
 ships sailed all the seas, bringing home gold 
 and silver and precious stones, spices and 
 rare silks. He had a great army with thou- 
 sands of horses and chariots. He built a 
 temple whose size and beauty made it one of 
 
 155 
 
the wonders of the world. He sent to Hiram, 
 King of Tyre^ for timbers to use in building 
 this temple. Hundreds of great fir and cedar 
 trees were cut in the forests of Lebanon, and 
 dragged down to the sea. There they were 
 made into rafts, and carried to the sea shore 
 of Solomon's country, and then dragged up to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 The walls of the temple were of stone, 
 and there were great pillars round three sides 
 of it, and a porch in front. Inside, the tem- 
 ple was decorated with beautiful carved stone 
 and with gold. It took seven years to build 
 the temple, and when it was done it was one 
 of the most beautiful buildings ever seen. 
 
 After the temple was finished, Solomon 
 built a palace for himself This was also 
 very large and magnificent. Like the temple, 
 its walls were of stone, and there were great 
 pillars about it, and a porch in front. 
 - Within the palace there was a beautiful 
 
 156 
 
throne of ivory and gold. There was a carved 
 hon on each side of it, and there were six 
 carved hons on each side of the six steps 
 that led up to it. 
 
 The fame of Solomon became so great that 
 people came from far away places to see him. 
 The Queen of Sheba heard of him, and was 
 
 157 
 
anxious to learn if Solomon was really as wise 
 and great as he was said to be. So she made 
 the long journey from her land to Jerusalem 
 to see for herself. 
 
 She came with a great train of camels 
 laden with all kinds of costly presents for 
 Solomon. There were gold and precious stones 
 and rare spices. The queen was amazed at 
 what she saw and heard at Solomon's court, 
 and she said to the king: 
 
 ''I could not believe all the wonderful 
 things that were told me of your knowledge 
 and wisdom. But now I have come and seen 
 with my own eyes, and heard with my own 
 ears. Now I know that half the truth was 
 not told me. All your wisdom and wealth 
 are far greater than I could have believed." 
 
 So for forty years Solomon ruled in splen- 
 dor and magnificence, and his great fame and 
 wisdom have come down to us of the present 
 day. 
 
 158 
 
THE FOX AND THE WOLF 
 
 One summer night, when a big, round full 
 moon was shining in the sky, a great wolf 
 came trotting along the road that led to a 
 village. 
 
 ''I must surely get a good meal before I 
 go back to my den/' he said to himself. "It 
 is nearly a week since I have tasted anything 
 but scraps, and I am nearly starved to death, 
 
 159 
 
Of course^ there are plenty of rabbits in the 
 mountains ; but one needs to be as fast as a 
 greyhound to catch them. I must see if I 
 cannot find something to eat in this village.'' 
 
 Just at that moment, a hungry fox came run- 
 ning up. She, too, had been without anything 
 to eat, until she was nearly dead with hunger. 
 
 When the wolf saw the fox, his mouth 
 began to water. " Aha ! " he said to himself. 
 "There are worse things to eat than a fox." 
 
 When the fox saw^ the wolf, she spoke 
 very politely. Is that you, neighbor ? " she 
 said. ''I hope you are quite well." 
 
 Oh, yes ! " said the wolf As well as 
 one can be when one is very hungry. But 
 what is the matter with you? You aren't as 
 plump as you were the last time I saw you." 
 
 I have been very ill," said the fox. " A 
 worm is fat compared with me." 
 
 ''Still you are fat enough for me; for 'to 
 the hungry no bread is hard.' " 
 
 160 
 
" Why^ what do you mean ? said the fox. 
 " I am sure you are not half as hungry as I/' 
 
 " We shall soon see ! " cried the wolf, opening 
 his great mouth and getting ready for a spring. 
 
 What are you going to do ! exclaimed 
 the fox, jumping backward. 
 
 Going to do ! Why, make my supper off 
 you, to be sure." 
 
 "Well, I suppose you must have your 
 joke,'' said the fox, trying to appear quite 
 calm, but never taking her eyes off the wolf. 
 
 ''I don't want to joke, but to eat," said 
 the wolf 
 
 "But, surely, you wouldn't eat me. I am 
 so thin that you would never know that you 
 had eaten anything." 
 
 "You are better than nothing," said the 
 wolf. " I am too hungry to be particular." 
 
 "Wait! Wait!" said the fox. "If I must 
 die I must, that is all ; but I have one last 
 request to make." 
 
 162 
 
Well, what is it ? Be quick and don't 
 waste time." 
 
 ''You must know/' said the fox, ''that in 
 this village there is a rich man. In the 
 summer he makes enough cheeses to last 
 him for the whole year. He keeps them in an 
 old well that is now dry in his yard. In the 
 well hang two buckets that were used in 
 former days to draw up water. For many 
 nights I have crept down to the place, lowered 
 myself in the bucket, and brought home 
 enough cheese to feed the children. All I 
 ask is, that you will come with me and let 
 me make a good meal off the cheeses before 
 I die." 
 
 " But the cheeses may be all eaten by this 
 time." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said the fox. " There are plent}^ 
 of them; and if they are all gone, you will 
 still have me to eat." 
 
 "Well, I will go," said the wolf "Lead 
 
 163 
 
the way. But if you try to run away or play 
 any tricks, it will be the worse for you." 
 
 All was silent in the village, and not a 
 light was to be seen but that of the moon. 
 The wolf and the fox crept softly along until 
 they came to a wall. 
 
 ''Here we are/' said the fox. ''Now, up 
 we go," and he jumped up on the wall. The 
 wolf followed quickly. 
 
 From the top of the wall they could look 
 down into the yard. In the further corner 
 stood the well with its two buckets, just as 
 the fox had described it. 
 
 The fox and the wolf crawled along the 
 wall until they were opposite the well. Then, 
 by stretching out her neck, the fox could see 
 that there was only a little water in the well; 
 but there was quite enough to reflect the 
 moon, big and yellow. 
 
 " How lucky ! " she cried. " There is a big 
 cheese about the size of a mill wheel. Look! 
 
 164 
 
Look! Did you ever see am-thing so beauti- 
 ful ! 
 
 " Xever ! said the vrolf, looking over into 
 the vrell : for he really thought that the moon's 
 reflection in the water was a cheese. 
 
 There, now. didn't I tell you the truth ? 
 asked the fox. 
 
 ''Yes." said the wolf, '''you are surely a 
 fox of your word.'' 
 
 "ATell. then, go down in the bucket and 
 eat all you want," said the fox. 
 
 " Oho ! that is vour D;anie, is it ? " exclaimed 
 
 165 
 
the wolf, grinning. " No, no ! If anyone govs 
 down in that bucket it will be you. If you 
 don't go, your head will go without you.'' 
 
 Oh, very well ! I am perfectly willing to 
 jgo," said the fox, who had expected the wolfs 
 answer. 
 
 And be sure you don't eat all the cheese, 
 or it will be the worse for you," said the wolf 
 
 "Very well," said the fox, and she climbed 
 into the bucket. 
 
 Down went the fox to the bottom of the 
 well. There she found that the water was 
 not deep enough to cover her legs. 
 
 "Why, the cheese is even larger and richer 
 than I thought," she called to the wolf, who 
 was leaning over and looking down into the 
 well. 
 
 "Then be quick and bring it up," said the 
 wolf 
 
 "How can I? It weighs more than I do," 
 said the fox. 
 
 166 
 
If it is so heavy, bring it in two pieces." 
 " But I have no knife. You will have to 
 come down yourself and help me to carry it 
 up.'' 
 
 But how can I get down ? " 
 Get into the other bucket." 
 
 The wolf looked at the bucket a moment. 
 Then he climbed into it. As he weighed 
 much more than the fox. his bucket went 
 down quickly ; and the bucket in which the 
 fox was seated went up to the top of the well. 
 
 When the wolf saw that the fox had got 
 away and left him at the bottom of the well, 
 he was very angry. But he still felt a little 
 comforted at the thought that he at least had 
 the cheese. 
 
 But when he looked around he could not 
 see the cheese anywhere. 
 
 Where is the cheese ? " he asked of the 
 fox, who was leaning over the edge of the 
 well and smiling at him. 
 
 167 
 
The cheese ? " answered the fox. " Why, 
 I am taking it home to my babies, who are 
 too young to get food for themselves." 
 
 " Oh, you rascal ! " shouted the wolf. But 
 the fox had not waited to hear. She had run 
 off to a chicken-house, where she had seen 
 some nice fat chickens a day or two before. 
 
 168 
 
WAITING TO GROW 
 
 Little white snowdrops^ just waking up, 
 Yiolet, daisY^ and sweet buttercup ! 
 Think of the flow'rs that are under the snow, 
 Waiting to grow! 
 
 And think what numbers of queer Httle seeds, 
 Of flowers and mosses, of ferns and of weeds, 
 Are under the leaves and under the snow, 
 Waiting to grow! 
 
 169 
 
Think of the roots getting ready to sprout. 
 Reaching their slender brown fingers about, 
 Under the ice and the leaves and the snow, 
 Waiting to grow! 
 
 Only a month or a few weeks more 
 Will they be waiting behind that door; 
 Listen and watch, for they are below, 
 Waiting to grow! 
 
 Nothing so small, or hidden so well. 
 That God will not find it and very soon tell 
 His sun where to shine and his rain where 
 to go, 
 
 To help them to grow! 
 
 Frank French. 
 
 170 
 
THE THREE FEATHERS 
 There was once a king who had grown too 
 old and weak to reign over his kingdom any 
 longer. So he called his three sons to him 
 and said : " My dear children, I have grown 
 old and tired. I should like to give up the 
 cares of my kingdom ; but I cannot make up 
 my mind which of you to choose for my heir, 
 for I love you all three alike. Xow I want 
 my people to have the best and cleverest of 
 you for a king, so I will give you three trials, 
 and the one who carries them out most suc- 
 cessfully shall have the kingdom. The first 
 task is to bring me home a hundred ells of 
 cloth, so fine that I can draw it through my 
 golden ring." 
 
 Then he led them outside the palace, and 
 blew three feathers into the air. This he did 
 so that there might be no quarrel as to which 
 road each should take. 
 
 171 
 
One feather flew to the west, another to 
 the east, and the third feather flew straight 
 up into the air, and then feU to the ground 
 in a lonely, marshy place. The two elder 
 brothers followed the roads their feathers had 
 taken, but the youngest brother, whose feather 
 had fallen so soon to the ground, sat down 
 in the lonely place feeling very sad and mis- 
 erable. 
 
 Presently he saw that there was a trap-door 
 
 172 
 
just where the feather had faUen. This seemed 
 to him very strange, and he sat for some time 
 wondering what could be under it. At length 
 he went to the door and raised it. Then he 
 saw a flight of steps which led down to still 
 another door. Going down the steps, the 
 prince knocked at the door, and soon he 
 heard a voice saying, 
 
 ''Little frog with crooked leg, 
 Open now the door, I beg." 
 
 Immediately the door was opened by a 
 little green frog. The prince, entering, saw 
 inside a big frog surrounded by numbers of 
 other little frogs. 
 
 The old frog asked what he wanted, and 
 the prince replied : ''I want a hundred ells 
 of cloth, so fine that it will pass easily 
 through the golden ring of the king, my 
 father.'^ 
 
 173 
 
Then the old frog said, 
 
 "Little frog with crooked leg, 
 Bring me here the box, I beg." 
 
 The little frog brought a golden box. Out 
 ot this the old frog took a small, dirty piece 
 of linen, and gave it to the prince. The 
 prince hardly knew whether to take the linen 
 or not ; but, trusting in the frog, he put it into 
 his pocket, and set out for home. 
 
 When he got there, he found that his broth- 
 ers had just returned, with many coaches laden 
 with fine cloths from far away countries. 
 
 The old king was very glad to see his sons 
 again. Pulling the ring off his finger, he tried 
 to see which of them had done the best. 
 But of all the cloth which the two elder 
 brothers had brought home, there was not one 
 piece, a tenth part of which would go through 
 the ring! 
 
 Then the youngest brother stepped forward, 
 
 174 
 
and took out of his pocket the piece of Hnen 
 which the frog had given him. But it was 
 no longer a small^ dirty rag. Instead, it had 
 changed into a piece of cloth, so soft and fine 
 and white that nothing like it had ever been 
 seen before. Now it passed through the ring 
 quite easily. Indeed, two such pieces would 
 readily have gone through together. 
 
 The father embraced his lucky son and 
 said : " Now you must set about the second 
 task. Bring me home a little dog, so small 
 that it will lie in a nut-shell.'' 
 
 So once again the three brothers set out. 
 As before, the two elder went east and west; 
 but the youngest brother went straight to the 
 trap-door and knocked again. 
 
 Once more he heard the voice saying, 
 
 "Little frog with crooked leg, 
 Open now the door, I beg." 
 
 And once more the door was opened to him. 
 
 175 
 
What do you want this time ? asked 
 fche old frog. When the prince had told her 
 what he wanted, she said again, 
 
 ''Little frog with crooked leg, 
 Bring me here the box, I beg." 
 
 Then she took out of it a hazel-nut, and 
 told him to take it home to his father, and 
 crack it very gently. 
 
 The prince thanked her very much, and 
 turned his steps homeward. 
 
 His brothers had reached home first. They 
 had brought with them all sorts of little dogs, 
 of every known shape and kind. But none 
 of them was small enough to go inside even 
 the largest walnut-shell that could be found. 
 Then the youngest son took the hazel-nut, and 
 cracked it very gently. There, inside, was the 
 prettiest little white dog that had ever wagged 
 its tail. The old king was delighted, and said 
 to his children : " Dear sons, your hardest 
 
 176 
 
tasks are over. Xotv listen to my last wish. 
 AYhoever brings heme the fairest laclv for a 
 bride shall be heir to all mv kingdom." 
 
 The two elder brothers set out in high 
 spirits, but the youngest brother went rather 
 sadly. He did not see how the old frog could 
 help him this time. Howeverj he knocked, as 
 
 177 
 
twice before, at her door, and, as before, he 
 heard her voice saying, 
 
 ''Little frog with crooked leg. 
 Open now the door, I beg." 
 
 " Well, what is it now ? the old frog asked 
 as he entered. 
 
 " Ah ! said the prince, " I fear that you 
 cannot help me this time." 
 
 ''Never mind," said the frog; "tell me 
 what it is." 
 
 Then the prince said : " This time I have 
 to bring home the most beautiful bride." 
 
 Then the frog said, 
 
 178 
 
^'Little frog with crooked leg, 
 Bring a pumpkin here, I beg.'' 
 
 When the pumpkin was brought, the old 
 frog sent for six water-rats, which she har- 
 nessed to it. Then she put an old fat toad 
 on the box for a coachman, and two of the 
 little frogs behind for footmen. 
 
 ''Now/' said she to the prince, "take my 
 youngest daughter, the little frog with the 
 crooked leg, and put her inside." 
 
 The prince did as he was told, when, be- 
 hold! no sooner had he placed the little frog 
 in the pumpkin than the pumpkin turned into 
 a coach, the rats into horses, the toad into a 
 splendid coachman, the frogs into footmen, 
 and the little frog with the crooked leg into 
 the most beautiful princess that had ever been 
 born in the world. Then off they drove to 
 the king's palace. 
 
 When thev reached there, the two elder 
 
 179 
 
brothers had just arrived. Each of them had 
 brought with him hundreds of beautiful ladies, 
 so as to make sure of the prize. But when 
 the frog princess stepped down from her 
 chariot, all the court exclaimed with one voice 
 that she was the most beautiful of them alL 
 So the youngest brother became heir to 
 his father's crown, and, after his marriage to 
 the frog princess, ruled over the kingdoixx 
 
 wisely and well. G^,^^ Brothers. 
 
SNOWDROP AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 
 
 The Queen 
 Snowdrop 
 
 Voice from the Mirror 
 
 Captain Hans 
 Gretchen 
 
 The Seven Dwarfs 
 
 Scene I 
 
 THE QUEEN'S CHAJVIBER 
 
 The queen is sitting before her mirror arranging 
 lier hair, Gretehen, the qiieen^s maid^ is as- 
 sisting her. 
 
 Queen: There! How does my hair look now? 
 Gretchen : Very beautiful, fair Queen. 
 
 181 
 
Queen : (Smiling.) Do you really think so ? 
 You are a good girl. But I will ask my 
 magic mirror. 
 
 "Tell me, glass, tell me true! 
 Of all the ladies in the land 
 Who is fairest? Tell me — who?" 
 
 Voice from Mirror : 
 
 Thou, Queen, art fair and beauteous to see. 
 But Snowdrop seems lovelier far to me. 
 
 Qiieen : (Looking surprised and angry,) My glass 
 must be bewitched ! Never has it spoken 
 like this before. When I have asked it 
 who was fairest it has always answered, 
 " Thou, Queen, art the fairest in the land.^' 
 (To Gretchen) Go tell Snowdrop to come 
 to me at once. 
 
 Gretchen: Yes, fair Queen. (Goes out) 
 
 Queen : My lazy stepdaughter Snowdrop must 
 be at the bottom of this. She the fairest 
 in the land! What nonsense! (Gretchen 
 
 182 
 
comes in icitli Snowdrop, Queen seizes her by 
 the twist?) Here, you lazy good-for-noth- 
 ing ! What have you done to my muTor ? 
 
 Snoicdrojo : I don't know what you mean. I 
 haYen't touched your mirror. 
 
 Queen : You haYe ; I know you haYO. Take 
 that ! {Slajjs her face) You are the fairest 
 in the land^ are you ? You won't be long. 
 Out of my sight ! {Pushes her from the room, 
 then ivalks up and down a moment thinking.) 
 I know what I will do. Gretchen, go call 
 Hans, the captain of the guard. 
 
 Gretchen: Yes, fair Queen. {Goes out.) 
 
 Queen : I will be troubled no longer by that 
 idle girl. If I can get her out of the way, 
 my mirror can noYor again say that she 
 is fairer than I. {Gretchen comes in loith 
 Captain Hans.) 
 
 Queen : Good morning. Captain Hans. 
 
 Captain Hans : Good morning, fair Queen. {He 
 drops on one hnee before her and kisses her hand) 
 
Queen: {To the maid.) You may go, Gretchen. 
 {Gretchen goes out) Captain Hans, I wish 
 never to see Snowdrop again. I care not 
 what happens to her, you understand. 
 Can I trust you to see to this? 
 
 Captain Hans : {Smiling cruelly.) Yes, fair Queen, 
 your bidding shall be done. 
 
 Queen : Yery well ; go at once. Here, take this. 
 {Gives liim money.) 
 
 Captain Hans: Thank you, fair Queen. {Bows 
 and goes out.) 
 
 Queen : Ha, ha ! Now, " fairest in all the land," 
 you will soon be gone to a place from 
 which you can never return. We shall 
 see what my mirror will say then. 
 
 Scene H 
 
 A DEEP FOREST 
 
 Captain Hans and Snowdrop come in. Snowdrop 
 walks as if she were very weary. 
 
 Snowdrop : Please, sir, let us sit down and 
 rest. I am too weary to walk further. 
 
 184 
 
Captain Hans : {Smiling cruelly.) Sit down, then. 
 {Speaking to himself.) Well, the sooner it 
 is done the better. {Draivs his stvord and 
 turns and looks at Snowdrop.) 
 
 Snowdrop) : Why have you drawn your sword ? 
 Is there any danger here? 
 
 Captain Hans : Danger, did you say ? Ha, ha ! 
 Yes, indeed, there is danger. {Waves his 
 sword.) Do you know why you are here? 
 
Snowdrop : No, not I. But surely you would 
 
 not harm me! 
 Captain Hans : {Looking at Snowdrop and speaking 
 
 to himself,) How can I ever do it! She 
 
 is so lovely and so good. She is like the 
 
 dead queen, her mother. 
 Snowdrop : Oh, Captain Hans, the queen is 
 
 wicked, but you are not! Put up your 
 
 sword. 
 
 Captain Hans : You speak truly. The queen is 
 wicked. She wishes me to kill you, but I 
 cannot. But what shall I do ? I promised 
 she should never see you more. 
 
 Snowdrop : Leave me here in the woods. Then 
 you will have kept your promise to the 
 queen. 
 
 Captain Hans: {Thinks a moment,) Yes, that is 
 what 111 do. {Puts up his sword,) I will 
 leave you here. 
 
 Snowdrop: Good-bye, Captain Hans. {Captain 
 Hans goes out,) 
 
Scene III 
 
 IN THE DWARFS' COTTAGE 
 
 At the back of the room are seven little beds. In 
 the viiddle of the room is a table set for seven 
 persons. Seven stools stand about the table. 
 The door is pushed open^ and Snowdrop 
 comes in. 
 
 Snowdrop: {Sitting down on a stool,) Oh^ how 
 tired I am ! I must have walked for miles 
 and miles. I was so frightened, too. 
 Every minute I was afraid a bear or a 
 wolf would spring out upon me. And 
 now where am I? Whose house is this? 
 {Looks about room,) I am so hungry! 
 {Gets up^ knocking over stool and goes to table,) 
 Oh, what a pretty table! I wonder who 
 lives here. {Eats bread,) This bread is 
 good, and in this pitcher there is milk. 
 I will drink some. {Drinks milk,) There ! 
 I feel better now. Oh, Tm so sleepy! 
 
 187 
 
{Tries all the beds and finally falls asleep on 
 one. Presently the door opens and seven little 
 dwarfs eome in, one after the other,) 
 First Dwarf: Eh^ what! Somebody has upset 
 my stool. 
 
 Second Dwarf: Yes, yes ! Somebody has been 
 here. 
 
 Third Dwarf: Aha! Somebody has been eat- 
 ing my bread. 
 
 Fourth Dwarf : And somebody has been drink- 
 ing milk from my cup. 
 
 Fifth Dwarf: Somebody has been handling 
 my fork. 
 
 Sixth Dwarf : Somebody has been using my 
 knife. 
 
 Seventh Dwarf: My spoon is gone! Ah, there 
 it is on the floor. 
 
 First Dwarf : Just look at my bed. Somebody 
 has been lying in it. {The dwarfs all turn 
 from the table and run to look at their beds. 
 The seventh dwarf sees Snowdrop on his bed,) 
 
Seventh Dwarf: Oh, oh! Look here! 
 First Dwarf: AYhat a lovely girl! 
 Second Diuarf : Yes, how beautiful she is 
 Third Divarf : We must not wake her. 
 Fourth Dwarf : Xo ! Let her sleep ! 
 
 189 
 
Fifth Dwarf: She has lost her way in the 
 woods. 
 
 Sixth Dwarf: Yes, poor thing, she must be 
 tired out. 
 
 Seventh Dwarf: I will sleep on the floor to- 
 night. 
 
 First Dwarf: You may sleep in my bed if 
 
 you wish. 
 All the other Dwarfs : Or in mine ! 
 Seventh Dwarf : Thank you, brothers, you are 
 
 kind and generous, but I shall be all right 
 
 on the floor. 
 First Dwarf: Now let us eat our supper. But 
 
 let us be very careful not to wake the 
 
 little stranger. 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 IN THE DWARFS' COTTAGE NEXT MORNING 
 
 The Dwarfs have eaten breakfast and cleared away 
 the dishes and food^ leaving a place set for 
 
 190 
 
Snowdrop, They are getting ready to go out 
 to tcork. 
 
 Snoicdrop : {Opening her eyes and sitting ip) 
 Where am I ? Whose house is this ? 
 AYhere is Captain Hans ? Oh ! 
 
 First Dwarf: Do not be afraid, httle girl. 
 Nobody will hurt you. 
 
 Snowdrop : Oh ! I remember now. I was lost 
 in the woods. I walked ever so far be- 
 fore I came to this house. 
 
 First Diuarf: What is your name, and where 
 is your home, little girl ? 
 
 Snowdrop : {Looking sad.) My name is Snowdrop, 
 but I have no home. I did live with my 
 stepmother, the queen, but she was very 
 cruel. She had Hans, the captain of the 
 guard, take me out into the woods to kill 
 me. But he was not so wicked as the 
 queen, and left me in the woods, and now 
 I am here. I never can go back. The 
 queen would kill me if I did. 
 
Second Dwarf: You must stay with us. 
 Third Dwarf: Yes, yes, this shall be your 
 home. 
 
 Fourth Dwarf : You can keep house for us, and 
 we will take care of you. 
 
 Fifth Dwarf: What say you, brothers ? 
 
 Sixth and Seventh Dwarfs: Yes, yes, you must 
 make your home with us. 
 
 Snowdrop : Oh, how kind you are ! 
 
 First Dwarf: Well, then it is agreed, is it not? 
 
 Snowdrop : Yes, I will be your housekeeper. 
 I will keep your house in order, and wash 
 and cook and knit and spin for you. 
 
 First Dwarf: Ha, ha! That will be fine, will 
 it not, brothers ? 
 
 Other Dwarfs : Yes, yes ! Hurrah for Snowdrop ! 
 
 First Dwarf: But it is time for us to go to 
 work. Be careful and let nobody into the 
 house while we are gone. The wicked 
 queen will soon find out where you are, 
 and may try to kill you. 
 
Snowdrop : Never fear. I will take good care. 
 Dwarfs : Good-bye, Snowdrop, good-bye I {All 
 go out) 
 
 Snowdrop : Good-bye, kind dwarfs ! 
 
 Scene Y 
 
 THE QUEEN'S CHAjVIBER 
 
 Queen: There, now, that good-for-nothing girl 
 is gone. I kept her here too long. Let's 
 see what my magic mirror says to-day. 
 
 ''Tell me, glass, tell me true! 
 Of all the ladies in the land 
 Who is fairest ? Tell me — ^who ? " 
 
 193 
 
Voice from Mirror: 
 ThoUj Queen, art the fairest in all this land ; 
 But over the hills, in the greenwood shade, 
 Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have 
 made. 
 
 There Snowdrop is hiding her head ; and she 
 Seems lovelier far, O Queen, to me. 
 Queen: Oh, oh! Snowdrop still alive! That 
 cowardly Captain Hans did not kill her, 
 then. What shall I do now? {Walks up 
 and doivn.) Oh, I have it! I will poison 
 her. Here, I will put poison on this comb. 
 Then I will dress up so that she will not 
 know me, and go to see her at the dwarfs' 
 house. I will get rid of her yet. 
 
 Scene VI 
 
 IN THE DWARFS' COTTAGE 
 
 Snowdrop is sitting hy the fire spinning. 
 
 Snowdrop : How pleasant and cozy it is here ! 
 The dwarfs were so kind to give me a home. 
 
 194 
 
{Tliere is hnocking at the door. Snowdrojj gets 
 
 up and calls.) Who is there ? 
 Queen: (Outside.) Fine wares to sell! Fine 
 
 wares to sell ! 
 Snoivdro]) : I cannot let you in. 
 Queen : Very well, it matters not. Only open 
 
 the door a little, and let me show you 
 
 what pretty things I have. 
 
Snowdrop : I'm sure there's no harm in looking. 
 
 ( Opens door. Queen gives her a jwisoned comb.) 
 
 Oh, what a pretty comb ! Let me put it 
 
 in my hair. (Puts it in her hair.) Oh ! {She 
 
 falls to the floor senseless.) 
 Queen : Ha, ha ! Lie there now and never 
 
 wake again. ( Goes away laughing and shaking 
 
 her head. After a time the dwarfs come hack) 
 First Dwarf : {Seeing Snowdrop lying on the floor.) 
 
 Why, what is this? {The dtvarfs all gather 
 
 round her.) 
 Second Dwarf: Is she asleep? 
 Third Dwarf : {Noticing the comb in her hair and 
 
 pulling it out.) Aha ! See this ! The wicked 
 
 queen has been here. 
 First Dwarf: The wicked queen! 
 Second Dwarf: Come, brothers, we must hasten. 
 
 Let's put her on my bed. {They pick her 
 
 up and lay her on the bed. One brings water 
 
 to sprinkle her face^ one fans her^ another ruhs 
 
 her wrists, etc.) 
 
Third Dwarf : She breathes still. 
 Fourth Dwarf : Yes, yes ! She is not dead. 
 Fifth Divarf: Look! She opens her eyes. 
 Snowdrop: Where am I? Oh, where is my 
 new comb ? 
 
 First Diuarf: The comb is gone. You Avill 
 never see it again. It was a poisoned 
 gift, the gift of the wicked queen. 
 
 197 
 
Scene VII 
 
 IN THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER 
 
 Queen: By this time the poisoned comb has 
 done its work. Now I will see what my 
 mirror says. 
 
 Tell me, glass, tell me true ! 
 Of all the ladies in the land 
 Who is fairest ? Tell me — who ? " 
 
 Voice from Mirror : 
 Thou, Queen, art the fairest in all this land ; 
 But over the hills, in the greenwood shade. 
 Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have 
 made. 
 
 There Snowdrop is hiding her head ; and she 
 Seems lovelier far, O Queen, to me. 
 
 Queen : What ! Does that girl still live ? It 
 
 must be so, for my mirror tells the truth. 
 
 She shall die if it costs me my life. This 
 
 time I will make sure. {Takes an apple 
 
 from a side table,) I will put poison into 
 
 198 
 
this apple and take it to her. If she so 
 much as tastes it she will die. 
 
 Scene YIII 
 
 IX THE DWARFS' COTTAGE. 
 
 Snowdrop is sitting hy the fire mending. 
 
 Snoicdrop : Dear me, what a lot of mending I 
 have to do ! I must work hard to-day. 
 The little dwarfs wear out their clothes so 
 quickly, working in the mountains. {There 
 is a knock on the door.) Who is there ? 
 
 Queen : (Outside.) Only a poor woman. 
 
 Snoiudrop : {Opening window and looking out.) 
 AYhat do you want ? I cannot let you in. 
 
 Queen : Why should you fear me ? I could 
 not harm you eyen if I wished. 
 
 Snoivdrop : But the dwarfs told me not to let 
 anyone come in. I dare not disobey them. 
 
 Queen : Oh, yery well. I see you are a good 
 girl. So I will giye you this. {Gives her 
 a big red applei) 
 
Snowdrop : Oh, thank you ! I am so fond of 
 apples. {Takes apple.) I am sorry I can- 
 not let you in. 
 
 Queen : Never mind ; some day I'll come again.. 
 Good-bye. {Goes away) 
 
 Snowdrop : I'm sure she seemed a nice old 
 woman. What a fine big apple this is 1 
 {Takes a bite and at once falls senseless. After 
 a time the dwarfs come in and find Snowdrop 
 lying on the floor,) 
 
 First Dwarf: Oh, brothers, see! The wicked 
 queen has been here again. 
 
"Second Dwarf: Poor Snowdrop ! Let us put 
 her on the bed. {They pick her up and 
 lay her on the hed. They fan her^ riib her 
 ivrists^ etc.) 
 
 First Dicarf: She does not open her eves. 
 
 Second Dioarf : I fear she's dead this time. 
 
 Third Dwarf: That wicked^ wicked queen! 
 
 Fourth Dwarf : It's no use, brothers, she is 
 dead. {All the dwarfs kneel on the floor round 
 the hed and how their heads in their hands.) 
 
 Scene IX 
 
 IN THE DWARFS' COTTAGE. 
 
 Snoiudrop) lies on a hed in the middle of the room. 
 There are floicers ahout her. The little dwarfs 
 sit ahout the hed. 
 
 First Dicarf: How fair she is! 
 
 Second Dwarf : As fair as she was good. 
 
 Third Dicarf : It is hard to beheve that she 
 is dead. 
 
 Fourth Dwarf: Her cheeks are pink as roses. 
 
 201 
 
Fifth Dwarf: Her lips are red as coral. 
 Sixth Dwarf: We will never put her into the 
 
 cold ground. 
 Seventh Dwarf: No, no ! She is too beautiful. 
 First Dwarf: But who is this stranger coming ? 
 
 {All of the dwarfs look out of the open door. 
 
 A young prince comes in,) 
 Prince: Does a fair young maiden named 
 
 Snowdrop dwell here? 
 First Dwarf: There she lies. 
 Prince : Oh ! How beautiful she is ! 
 First Divarf : Beautiful and good! 
 Prince : But is she dead ? 
 
 First Dwarf: Yes, sad to say, she is. The 
 
 wicked queen at last has killed her. 
 Prince : Then I have come too late. I hoped to 
 
 make her mine. {Bends over her to kiss her; 
 
 as he does so, the piece of poisoned apple falls 
 
 from her lips and she sits up,) 
 Snowdrop: Why, where am I? What is the 
 
 matter? Who are you? 
 
 202 
 
Prince: I am Prince Roland, and I want you 
 for my princess. Will you come with me 
 to my father's palace and be my lovely 
 bride ? 
 
 Snoivdrop : {Looks at Tiim^ smiling) Yes, dear 
 Prince, I will go with you, for you look 
 kind and good. 
 
 Prince : Come, then, dear Snowdrop, let us go 
 at once. 
 
 Snowdrop {Getting cloivn from the bed) Thank 
 you, kind dwarfs. I never shall forget 
 you. You will come to see me, will you 
 not? 
 
 Prince: They shall all come to the wedding. 
 Snowdrop dear, and we shall see them 
 many times, I know. We never shall 
 forget such good, kind friends. 
 
 Dwarfs: Good-bye, dear Snowdrop, fairest in 
 the land. t. tt 
 
 R. H. Bowles. 
 
 203 
 
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY 
 
 'Tis splendid to live so grandly/ 
 
 That long after you are gone, 
 The things you did are remembered^ 
 
 And recounted under the sun ; 
 To live so bravely and purely. 
 
 That a nation stops on its way, 
 And once a year, with banner and drum, 
 
 Keeps its thoughts of your natal day. 
 
 'Tis splendid to have a record 
 
 So white and free from stain, 
 That, held to the light, it shows no blot, 
 
 Though tested and tried amain ; 
 That age to age forever 
 
 Repeats its story of love, 
 And your birthday lives in a nation's heart 
 
 All other days above. 
 
And this is Washington's glory, 
 
 A steadfast soul and true^ 
 Who stood for his country's honor 
 
 When his country's days were few; 
 And now, when its days are many, 
 
 And its flag of stars is flung 
 To the breeze in defiant challenge, 
 
 His name is on every tongue. 
 
 Yes, it's splendid to live so bravely. 
 
 To be so great and strong, 
 That your memory is ever a tocsin 
 
 To rally the foes of the wrong ; 
 To live so proudly and purely. 
 
 That your people pause in their way. 
 And year by year, with banner and drum^ 
 
 Keep the thoughts of your natal day. 
 
 Margaret E. Sangsteb. 
 
 205 
 
THE BOY SURYEYOK 
 
 The boy surveyor that I am going to tell 
 you about was born in Yirginia, in an old- 
 fashioned farm house near the Potomac River. 
 He was born on February 22^ 1732, so I know 
 you will guess his name. He became a great 
 man in after years, but when he was a boy 
 he was much like other boys. 
 
 George Washington, for that was the boy's 
 name, did not have such chances to go to 
 school as boys have now-a-days. The schoo] 
 houses were small and rudely built, and there 
 were not so many beautiful school books as 
 there are now. 
 
 But George soon learned to read and write 
 
 206 
 
and to do simple problems in arithmetic. He 
 became a very good penman, but he was never 
 a good speller. 
 
 Some of his copy-books and books of 
 exercises still exist, and from them we can 
 learn some of the ways he spent his time in 
 school. He used to write down in these books 
 rules or maxims to help him to behave prop- 
 erly. Among them are the following : 
 
 ''Speak not evil of the absent, for it is 
 unjust." 
 
 " Undertake not what you cannot perform, 
 but be careful to keep your promise." 
 
 "When a man does all he can, though it 
 succeeds not well, blame not him that did it." 
 
 '' Every action in company ought to be some 
 sign of respect to those present." 
 
 George was a strong and active boy, and 
 a great leader among his friends. He was good 
 at running, jumping, wrestling, and throwing 
 quoits, and he was a daring horseman. It is 
 
 207 
 
said that he once rode an unbroken colt that 
 belonged to his mother^ and held on although 
 the animal tried hard to throw him off. The 
 colt became exhausted from his attempts to 
 throw George from his back^ and at length 
 dropped dead. 
 
 One of George's favorite sports was play- 
 ing soldiers. He would form his playmates 
 into companies^ and march them about and 
 drill them. 
 
 208 
 
But George was not merely a strong and 
 active boy. He was also honest and truthful. 
 The boys trusted him, and often came to him 
 to ask him to settle their disputes. George 
 had his faults, however. He had a quick tem- 
 per that he often found hard to control. 
 
 From his love of out-door life, George 
 became interested in surveying, or measuring 
 land. He studied hard, and soon learned to 
 be a good surveyor. 
 
 When George was eleven years old his 
 father died. After that he lived for several 
 years with his brother Augustine. 
 
 When he was sixteen years old he went 
 to live with his brother Lawrence at Mount 
 Yernon. Here he met Lord Fairfax, an elderly 
 English gentleman, who owned a large planta- 
 tion not far from his brother's place. The 
 Englishman at once took a liking to the tall, 
 awkward young man, and soon they became 
 firm friends. 
 
 209 
 
They rode and hunted through the woods, 
 and they went on long surveying trips together. 
 Lord Fairfax had read a great deal, and had 
 travelled in many parts of the world. From 
 his talk George learned much about books 
 and far away places that he had never seen. 
 
 Now it happened that Lord Fairfax owned 
 a great tract of wild land in Virginia. As he 
 wished to know more about this land, he hired 
 George to visit it and report to him about it. 
 With him was to go a young relative of Lord 
 Fairfax, a few years older than George. 
 
 They set out together on horseback, carrying 
 guns, surveying instruments, and a few supplies. 
 They planned to kill game for most of their 
 food. It was a hard, rough trip for the two 
 young men. Sometimes they slept in the open 
 air, and sometimes in a tent or a rough camp. 
 
 In a letter to a friend written at this time, 
 George says : " I have not slept above three 
 or four nights in a bed, but, after walking a 
 
 210 
 
good deal all day, I have lain down before 
 the fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a 
 bear-skin, with man, wife, and children, like 
 dogs and cats, and happy is he who gets the 
 berth nearest the fire/' 
 
 Another time he wrote: ''We camped in 
 the woods, and after we had pitched our tent, 
 and made a large fire, we pulled out our 
 knapsacks to recruit ourselves. Everyone was 
 
 211 
 
his own cook. Our spits were forked sticks ; 
 our plates were large chips/' 
 
 Once they met a band of Indians. After 
 supper all gathered about a big fire, and the 
 painted savages danced a wild war dance. As 
 they jumped about, shouting and yelling, one 
 of the band beat time on a rude drum, made 
 by fastening a piece of deerskin over a pot 
 filled with water. 
 
 It was a hard trip, but a very interesting 
 and valuable one for the young men. George 
 was well paid, and — what was more important — 
 he learned a great deal about the woods and 
 about the Indians. 
 
 When he came back with his report. Lord 
 , Fairfax had him appointed public surveyor. 
 For the next three years George spent most 
 of his time ranging the woods of Yirginia. 
 He learned to be fearless, patient, and self- 
 reliant : qualities that were to be of the greatest 
 use to him in after life. 
 
 212 
 
THE MAGIC HOEX 
 
 Once on a time there was a farmer who 
 had three sons. They were all rather idle 
 fellows, and helped their father very little. One 
 day the oldest son, who was named Peter, 
 heard that the king wanted somebody to take 
 care of his rabbits. So he told his father that 
 he would like to go to the king's palace and 
 ask for the place. 
 
 ''Yery well." said the farmer, ''you may 
 go. But remember that if you are to please 
 the king you must be quick and careful and 
 attend to vour work." 
 
 213 
 
The young man felt sure that he could 
 please the king^ so he set out for the palace. 
 He had not gone far when he heard some one 
 calling for help. Looking around^ he saw a 
 deep pit, and away down at the bottom of it 
 was an old woman. 
 
 Help me out ! she called. " I have been 
 in this pit for a year, and I am nearly starved 
 to death." 
 
 What ! " cried Peter, You have been 
 there a whole year without anything to eat? 
 You must be a witch; I won't help you ouf 
 And off he went. 
 
 After a while, Peter arrived at the king's 
 palace, and was soon hired to take care of the 
 rabbits. He was to be well paid for his work, 
 and if none of the rabbits got away, he was 
 to have the princess for his wife. The young 
 man felt very well pleased. "I shall marry 
 the princess, and be living in a palace before 
 long," said he to himself 
 
 214 
 
The next day he drove the rabbits out into 
 the field to feed. At first all went well, but 
 after a while the rabbits got into the woods, 
 and when it was time to drive them home not 
 one of them could be seen. The lad looked 
 for them everywhere; but could not find one 
 of them. 
 
 This was a pretty state of things ! Still there 
 was nothing to do but to go back to the palace 
 without the rabbits. So back he went. 
 
 Now, when the king learned that all of his 
 rabbits had run away, he was very angry. 
 ''You're a laz}', good-for-nothing fellow/' said 
 he. '' I have no more use for you." So Peter 
 went sadly away. 
 
 Now, the king was very fond of rabbits, so 
 it was not long before he got a new lot. Then 
 he let it be known that he needed somebody 
 to take care of them. This time the farmer's 
 second son, John, heard about the matter, and 
 wanted to try his luck. So his father said he 
 
 215 
 
could go, and the young man set out for the 
 king's palace. 
 
 He had not gone far when he came to the 
 pit with the old woman in it. She asked him 
 to help her out, as she had asked the oldest 
 brother, but he said he would not, and went 
 on to the king's palace. 
 
 Now, when John got there he was hired 
 
 216 
 
to take care of the king's rabbits, just as his 
 older brother had been. The next day he drove 
 the rabbits out to feed. At first all went well. 
 Then, after a while, the rabbits all ran off into 
 ' the woods, and the lad could not find one of 
 "them. He looked and looked and looked, but 
 he could not find one of them. So he had 
 to go back to the palace without them, and 
 the king sent him away, just as he had sent 
 away his older brother. 
 
 Again the king got some more rabbits, to 
 take the place of those that had been lost. 
 And again he sent out word far and near that 
 he wanted somebody to take care of them. 
 
 This time the youngest son, who was named 
 Philip, heard about the matter, and wanted to 
 try his luck. 
 
 ''WelV said his father, "you may try it if 
 you want to, but I don't believe it will be any 
 use. Your brothers tried and failed, and I 
 am afraid you will fail too." 
 
 217 
 
But Philip made up his mind to try for the 
 place, so he packed his bag, and set out for 
 the king's palace. He had not gone far when 
 he heard some one calling, and when he looked 
 around he saw in the pit the same old woman 
 that his brothers had seen before. 
 
 ''Why, how do you do!'' said he. ''What 
 can I do for you ? " 
 
 " Help me out of this hole," said she. 
 
 Now, Philip was a kind, good-natured fellow, 
 so he gladly helped the old woman out of the 
 hole. Then, as he felt hungry, he sat down 
 to eat some lunch. "Won't you have some- 
 thing to eat too ? " he asked. 
 
 "Indeed I will," said she, "for I haven't 
 eaten anything for a very long time." 
 
 So down they sat on the ground together, 
 and began to eat. Now, the old woman ate 
 so fast that she got most of the food. But 
 Philip didn't care, and he let her eat all she 
 wanted. 
 
 218 
 
When they had flnishedj the old woman 
 gave Phihp a horn and said : If you blow 
 into the large end of the horn, anything you 
 wish for will come to you ; but if you blow 
 into the small end, anything you wish to go 
 away from you will fly off. If you should 
 ever lose the horn, you have only to wish for 
 it, and it will come back to you.'^ 
 
 "Thank you, grandmother,'' said the young 
 man. This is a horn worth having.'' 
 
 219 
 
Philip now went on to the king's palace. 
 He reached there before long, and was soon 
 hired to take care of the rabbits. The next 
 morning he drove them out into the field to 
 feed. At first all went well. The rabbits stayed 
 near and gave no trouble ; but after a while 
 they began to run off into the woods. 
 
 " Oh ! " cried the lad, you want to go away, 
 do you? Very well, go along, then." And 
 he blew into the small end of the horn. 
 
 220 
 
In an instant, away went the rabbits in all 
 directions. Then the young man found a nice 
 shady spot, and lay down to take a nap. 
 When he awoke it was time to go home, so 
 he took up his horn, and blew into the large 
 end of it. At once all the rabbits came run- 
 ning about him, and back he went with them 
 to the king's palace. 
 
 When he got there, the king and the 
 queen and the princess all came out and 
 looked at the rabbits. The king counted them 
 carefully to make sure that none were missing. 
 When he found they were all there he was 
 surprised. The princess looked hard at Philip. 
 ''He is a good-looking young man.'' she said 
 to herself '' It is too bad he is not of noble 
 birth." 
 
 The next day Philip took the rabbits out 
 again, and while they were feeding he again 
 lay down to take a nap. 
 
 Now, the king wondered how the lad had 
 
 221 
 
managed to take such good care of the rab- 
 bits. So he sent a servant out to watch him. 
 The servant hid nearby, and waited till he 
 saw the boy blow into the big end of the 
 horn, and call all the rabbits around him. 
 Then he ran back to the palace, and told the 
 king what he had seen. The king was much 
 surprised, and told the queen and the princess. 
 
 ''We must get the horn away from him," 
 said the princess, or I shall have to marry 
 him. To-morrow I will go out to the woods, 
 and while he is asleep I will take his horn 
 away." 
 
 So the next day the princess went to the 
 woods, and while Philip was asleep she took 
 his horn, and started to go back to the palace. 
 
 When Philip awoke, behold, his horn was 
 gone ! At first he was startled. How was he 
 to get his rabbits together again? Then he 
 remembered what the old woman had said, 
 and wished for the horn to come back. 
 
 222 
 
The princess was just getting back to the 
 palace with the horn, when Phihp wished for 
 it. All at once she felt it slip out of her 
 hand, and though she looked everwhere she 
 could not find it. The horn went right back 
 to Philip. He blew into the large end, and 
 all the rabbits came running about him. Then 
 he drove them all back to the king's palace. 
 
 The next day the queen said she would go 
 to the woods and get the horn. She found 
 Philip asleep, just as the princess had found 
 him the day before, and taking the horn 
 started to go back to the palace. She held it 
 very tight, but just as she was going into the 
 
 223 
 
palace the horn shpped out of her hand. That 
 night the youngest son drove the rabbits back 
 to the palace as usual, and not one was 
 missing. 
 
 "I shall have to attend to this matter 
 myself/' said the king. So the next day, while 
 Philip was asleep in the wood, the king came 
 and took away his horn. This time, to make 
 the matter surer, the king put the horn into 
 a bag. When he got back to the palace, he 
 opened the bag to show the horn to the queen 
 and the princess, and, behold, the bag was 
 empty ! 
 
 That night when Philip got back to the 
 palace with the rabbits, he was ordered before 
 the king. 
 
 What kind of horn is that you have ? 
 asked the king. "It must be a very strange 
 one, or you could not take care of the rabbits 
 without losing any of them." 
 
 "It was given to me by an old woman,'' 
 
 224 
 
said Philip. If I blow into one end it does 
 one thing, and if I blow into the other end 
 it does just the opposite.'' 
 
 That is very interesting," said the king. 
 Please show us how it works." 
 
 " I don't know whether you will like it or 
 not," said Philip. 
 
 "Never mind about that," said the king. 
 " Show us how it works." 
 
 ''Yery well, then," said Philip. ''I wish 
 you to fly away/' and he blew into the small 
 
 225 
 
end of the horn. Whist! Away went the 
 king, the queen, and the princess in different 
 directions. 
 
 " Help ! Help ! " cried the king, as he 
 n hirled away through the air. 
 
 Then Philip turned the horn, and blew into 
 the other end. In an instant, back they all 
 came. 
 
 The king was very angry. ''What do you 
 mean by treating me that way ? he cried. 
 "I will have your head cut off." 
 
 Philip raised the horn to blow into it again. 
 " Here, here ! Stop that ! cried the king. '' I 
 have had enough of that horn. I am too old 
 to go flying about the country, as I did just 
 now. You shall have my daughter and half 
 '. the kingdom, but don't ever blow that horn 
 near me again." 
 
 So Philip got the princess and half of the 
 kingdom, and lived happily ever afterwards. 
 
 226 
 
LIXES WEITTEX IN MAECH 
 
 The cock is crowing, 
 
 The stream is flowing^ 
 
 The small birds twitter, 
 
 The lake doth glitter, 
 The green field sleeps in the sun ; 
 
 The oldest and youngest 
 
 Are at work with the strongest ; 
 
 The cattle are grazing. 
 
 Their heads never raising; 
 There are forty feeding like one. 
 
 Like an army defeated 
 The snow hath retreated^ 
 
 227 
 
And now doth fare ill 
 On the top of the bare hill; 
 The ploughboy is whooping — anon — anon : 
 There's joy in the mountains; 
 There's life in the fountains ; 
 Small clouds are sailing, 
 Blue sky prevailing ; 
 
 The rain is over and gone! 
 
 William Wordsworth. 
 
 228 
 
OUR FRIEND MR. MUSKRAT 
 We were off for the trout-pool. I sat at one 
 end of the canoe and paddled, while Donald, 
 sat at the other, with his eyes wide open for 
 any unusual sight. The sun had not been up 
 long, and as we passed through the meadows 
 the air was still cool and sweet with the smell 
 of wet grass and leaves. Wisps of mist curled 
 up 'from the river. Soon we came to a belt 
 of woods, and here the air was spicy with 
 the fragrance of fir balsam and cedar. 
 
 Presently we swung round a sharp bend in 
 the river, and all at once Donald held up a 
 warning hand. I stopped paddling and looked 
 ahead. Thirty yards or so in front of us, 
 there was something in the water. At first 
 sight it looked like the end of a small sunken 
 log or a stump ; but when I looked at it more 
 closely I could see that it was moving, and 
 
 229 
 
that little ripples flowed back from it on 
 both sides. 
 
 ^^What is it?^^ asked Donald. 
 
 " Muskrat/' said I softly ; it's going ashore 
 over there." 
 
 Sure enough. While we watched, it reached 
 the bank, and disappeared in a hole just at the 
 edge of the water. We got a glimpse of a 
 thick, fat body about a foot long, covered with 
 dark-brown hair, and a long, bare rat tail, and 
 then it was gone. 
 
 What a wet, uncomfortable house he must 
 have ! said Donald. 
 
 "Oh, no, indeed! His house is dry and 
 warm, I'm sure,'' said 1. "If you dug into 
 his hole you would find that it slopes upward 
 from the water for a short distance, and then 
 at the end of a narrow passage widens into 
 quite a big room. There Mr. and Mrs. Musk- 
 rat and their babies live warm and dry, well 
 above the reach of the highest spring floods." 
 
 230 
 
''But why is the muskrat's front door 
 under water ? 
 
 I laughed. " Oh, that is because he is less 
 likely to be disturbed by callers that he 
 doesn't care to see. They might get inside 
 and kill his little ones." 
 
 "But how does he get out in winter time 
 when the ice is frozen ? 
 
 " He comes out under the ice and feeds 
 on reeds and roots whenever he wants to. 
 He doesn't mind the water, for his thick fur 
 sheds it and keeps him always warm and dry.'' 
 
 "I should like to see one near to/' said 
 Donald. 
 
 ''You would find that he looks much like 
 a big rat. He has soft, thick brown fur and 
 a long, rather flat, scaly tail, and he has webbed ) 
 feet like a duck, to help him to swim easily 
 He is a harmless little animal." 
 
 " But why is he called a musla-at ? " 
 Because of his musky odor. I will paddle 
 
 231 
 
over to his hole, and then I think you will 
 understand how he has got his name." 
 
 I paddled over to the bank just beside 
 the muskrat's hole. The mouth of the hole 
 was about six inches wide, and was just under 
 the water. On the muddy shore, and on the 
 bottom of the river near the hole, were many 
 half en ten reeds and roots, which the muskrat 
 
 ;h: family had brought home at various 
 
 " Not very tidy, is he ? said Donald. When 
 he is through eating he just throws the bones 
 out at his front door." 
 
 " No," said I, " he doesn't care much for 
 
 232 
 
looks. What he is thinking of mostly is some- 
 thing to eat. Xow/' I continued, ''just sniff a 
 few times, and tell me if you understand how 
 the muskrat has got his name." 
 
 There was a very distinct musky odor in 
 the air that it was impossible to mistake for 
 anything else. 
 
 '' Yes/' said Donald, " I understand. It cer- 
 tainly smells like musk here." 
 
 We paddled up the river to the trout-pool, 
 and two hours later, on our way back, again 
 neared the muskrat's hole. 
 
 "Let's go quietly now, and perhaps we 
 may see Mr. Muskrat or some member of 
 his family again," said 1. 
 
 So I stopped paddling, and let the canoe 
 drift down stream with the current, scivins: mv 
 paddle a twist now and then to keep the 
 canoe in the channel. 
 
 Presently we came in sight of the musk- 
 rat's hole For a moment, though I looked 
 
 233 
 
closely, I could see nothing. Then I could 
 make out the round, fat body of the muskrat, 
 as he sat huddled up on the muddy bank 
 near his hole. As I watched him I could sec 
 that he moved slightly, and then I made out 
 that he was gnawing a reed. We kept so 
 still, and he was so busy with his lunch that 
 we got quite near before he saw us. 
 
 Then, all at once, there was a quick flash 
 of brown, a plop in the water, and the musk- 
 rat had disappeared into his hole. 
 
 " Good-bye, Mr. Muskrat ! " cried Donald. 
 ''Well call again some day." 
 
 R. H. Bowles. 
 
 234 
 
THE SOXG OF THE THRUSH 
 
 There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in 
 the tree ; 
 
 He's singing to me ! He's singing to me ! " 
 And what does he say, httle girl, httle boy ? 
 ''Oh, the world's running over with joy! 
 
 Don't you hear ? Don't you see ? 
 
 Hush! Look! In my tree, 
 I'm as happy as happy can be ! " 
 
 And the brown thrush keeps singing, ''A 
 
 nest do you see. 
 And five eggs hid by me in the juniper tree? 
 Don't meddle ! Don't touch ! Little girl, 
 
 little boy. 
 
 Or the world will lose some of its joy! 
 
 Now I'm glad ! Now I'm free ! 
 
 And I always shall be, 
 If you never bring sorrow to me/' 
 
 235 
 
So the merry brown thrush sings away in 
 the tree, 
 
 To you and to me, to you and to me; 
 
 And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, 
 
 ^'Oh, the world's running over with joy; 
 
 But long it won't be, 
 
 Don't you know? Don't you see? 
 Unless we are as good as can be ? " 
 
 Lucy Larcom. 
 
 236 
 
THREE ORPHANS 
 
 One afternoon, a little before sunset, Louis 
 Bradford looked up from his book, and saw 
 a little brown head pop out from under the 
 corner of the carriage house. 
 
 At first he thought it was a rat that he 
 had seen. For at breakfast he had heard his 
 father say that rats had been getting into the 
 grain. But he kept very still, and in a little 
 while the head poked out farther. Then the 
 whole body followed, and he saw that the 
 animal was much larger than a rat. In fact, 
 it was as large as a full-grown cat or a small 
 dog. It had a round, fat body, covered with 
 grayish-brown hair, and a broad head, with 
 small ears that hardly showed at all. 
 
 With little runs of a foot or two at a 
 time, the creature ventured farther and farther 
 away from the corner of the carriage house. 
 
 237 
 
Then^ to Louis's astonishment^ it stood up on 
 its hind quarters, with its forepaws hanging 
 down in front. There it stood and looked all 
 about, to see whether it was safe to go any 
 farther. But just then, in his eagerness to see, 
 Louis leaned too far forward, and his book 
 slipped to the floor of the piazza with a loud 
 slam. At that the strange animal flashed 
 back out of sight into his hole. It moved so 
 quickly that it looked like a mere brown streak. 
 
 When Louis told the gardener what he 
 had seen, the old man laughed. "It's only 
 a woodchuck, I guess/' said he. ''You will 
 see him again before long.'' But, although 
 Louis watched for several days, he saw noth- 
 ing more of the brown head or the fat, 
 round body. 
 
 One morning he awoke very early, and 
 looking out of his window saw the woodchuck 
 again. He was feeding in plain sight on the 
 grass plot behind the house. 
 
 238 
 
In the corner stood the httle rifle that 
 had come to Louis's older brother as a 
 Christmas present, and on a shelf near by 
 stood the box of cartridges. Louis had been 
 allowed to use the rifle when he was with 
 his brother, but had never tried it alone. 
 Now, he thought, his chance had come. 
 
 Very quietly he slipped over to the corner, 
 took down the box of cartridges, and slipped 
 one of them into the rifle. Then, barefooted, 
 he tiptoed down stairs, carefully slid the bolt 
 of the back door, and stepped out. Stealing 
 to the corner of the house, he looked around. 
 
 239 
 
Yes, the woodchuck was still there, and still 
 feeding! It had not been alarmed. 
 
 Louis raised the little rifle slowly, rested 
 the barrel against the corner of the house, 
 took careful aim, and pulled the trigger. At 
 the report he saw something flop, and ran to 
 the edge of the grass plot. There lay the 
 woodchuck, still now, and looking up at Louis 
 with glazing eyes, as if to say : Why did you 
 do it ? Have I ever harmed you ? Then 
 the eyes closed, and the woodchuck was 
 dead. 
 
 Louis went back to the house. Instead of 
 feeling proud of what he had done, he began 
 to ask himself why he had done it, and he 
 could not find any good answer. 
 
 To be sure, he had heard the gardener say 
 that woodchucks destroy garden vegetables ; 
 but when he looked, after breakfast, he could 
 find none that seemed to have been nibbled. 
 On going to see what the little animal had 
 
 240 
 
been eatins: when he shot it, he found only 
 a patch of clover. 
 
 " AYhat about the vouno: ones ? " asked the . 
 gardener that noon. 
 
 " Young ones ? " asked Louis. What 
 young ones ? " 
 
 ''Why, the old woodchuck had a family. 
 
 241 
 
There are three young ones in the hole under 
 the carriage house. I saw them all out to- 
 gether the other day/' said the gardener. 
 
 Will they starve to death ? asked Louis, 
 much troubled. 
 
 " I'm afraid they will, unless somebody kills 
 them — or feeds them.'' 
 
 Louis asked no more questions. That after- 
 
 242 
 
noon he went to work with a spade at the 
 corner of the carriage house. It took him 
 until nearly night, but when he finished he 
 had three little balls of fur, with frightened 
 black eyes that watched every move he made. 
 The gardener found an old squirrel cage in 
 the loft and into it they put the three orphans, 
 with a big bunch of fresh clover, and in the 
 morning the clover was gone. 
 
 That is the way Louis got his little family. 
 Two or three times a day he had to feed 
 them, but he felt repaid when he saw how 
 quickly they began to lose their fear of him. 
 In a week he could take them out of the 
 cage, and handle them as he could the kitten. 
 In two weeks they would run all round the 
 yard, picking a dainty clover leaf here and a 
 little sorrel there, but alwavs readv to come 
 running when he whistled. 
 
 Xever did any other family of orphan 
 w oodchucks fare so well ! Besides the clover and 
 
 243 
 
the sorrel, there were tender leaves of lettuce, 
 and the juicy pods of peas, and bits of carrot. 
 All of the family grew round and fat, as their 
 mother had been, and all of them followed 
 Louis about. Whenever the cook would let 
 them, they would crawl in behind the stove 
 and cuddle together and sleep. 
 
 When September came, and it was time for 
 Louis to go back to school, the three orphans 
 were big enough to take care of themselves. 
 So they were taken to the pasture, and set down 
 beside a beautiful hole in the ground. 
 
 Since then Louis has never taken a rifle 
 in his hand, without first stopping to ask him- 
 self what he was going to do, and why. 
 
 Edward W. Frentz (adapted). 
 
 244 
 
THE APPLES OF YOUTH 
 
 Away up above the earth, beyond the River 
 of Mist, lay Asgarcl, the home of the great 
 gods of the Xorthlaiid. Here hved Odin, the 
 great father of the gods, and Freya, his wife. 
 Here, too, hved Thor, the great thunder god, 
 with his wonderful hammer, and Loki, the 
 mischief-maker, and many others that I can't 
 tell you about to-day. 
 
 But the sweetest and fairest of all that 
 lived in Asgard was Idun, the young goddess 
 of springtime and youth. All the gods loved 
 her, because she was so sweet and good, and 
 they watched over her very carefully because 
 of her magic apples. 
 
 245 
 
These apples Idun kept in a golden casket, 
 and every morning she brought them to the 
 table of the gods, so that those who wished 
 might taste them. They were very wonderful 
 ^ apples. A taste of one of them would make a 
 tired person feel fresh and strong again, and an 
 old person young once more. It is no won- 
 der that the gods were anxious that nothing 
 should ever happen to these apples, and it is 
 no wonder that Idun took very good care of 
 them, and never let them go out of her sight. 
 
 Now, the fame of these magic apples spread 
 far and wide. Almost every day some one would 
 come to Asgard to beg for a taste of them. 
 But Idun always shook her head and said 
 kindly: ''I am very, very sorry, but nobody 
 but a god is allowed to taste my magic apples." 
 
 Now, away outside of Asgard, in a wild and 
 barren region, lived the great storm giant, 
 Thiassi. He had heard of the magic apples, 
 and wanted very much to get them. So he 
 
 246 
 
watched and waited day after day, and tried 
 hard to get one of them. But, try as hard as 
 he could, he didn't get so much as a look 
 at the apples. Idun kept such careful watch 
 that they were never out of her sight. 
 
 Everything would have been all right if 
 it hadn't been for Loki. He was always in 
 some mischief or other, and one day when 
 he was out hunting, Tliiassi got hold of him. 
 I don't need to tell you how, for that is a long 
 story. It is enough to know that Thiassi caught 
 Loki, and wouldn't let him go until he had 
 promised to get Idun and her apples out of 
 Asgard. 
 
 So Loki promised. There was nothing else 
 to do. And when he got back to Asgard, he 
 began to plan how he could persuade Idun 
 to leave Asgard with her magic fruit. 
 
 One day he saw Idun playing in a sunny 
 grove with her golden apples, so he went up 
 to her and said : " Those are beautiful apples 
 
 247 
 
of yours, Idun, but I know where there are 
 some that are still more beautiful." 
 
 Idun stopped playing with her apples, and 
 ' looked up at Loki with surprise. " Oh, Loki ! 
 Do you really mean it ? she asked. 
 
 Of course I do," said the mischievous 
 Loki. "I know where there is a tree with 
 golden apples that are much bigger and finer 
 than yours." 
 
 248 
 
''I don't believe it, Loki." 
 
 "Well, then, come and see for yourself/' 
 said the wicked Loki. 
 
 ''Are they very far off?" asked Idun. 
 Oh, no/' said Loki, " not very far. Come 
 along with me, and I will show them to you." 
 
 So, taking her casket of apples under her 
 arm, Idun walked along with Loki. 
 
 They walked on and on, Loki all the while 
 telling Idun that the tree was only a little 
 farther off. Then, all at once, Idun saw that 
 she was outside of Asgard, and began to feel 
 a little frightened. 
 
 " Oh, Loki," she cried," where am I, and where 
 are the golden apples that you told me of? " 
 
 But Loki only laughed. And just then 
 there was a great whirring of wings. Thiassi, 
 the storm giant, in the form of an eagle, 
 swooped down through the air, caught Idun 
 by the girdle, and carried her off, casket and 
 all, to his own home. 
 
 249 
 
Poor Idun! She was dreadfully sorry and 
 dreadfully frightened. She knew that she ought 
 not to have listened to Loki. She knew that 
 she ought not to have gone out of Asgard. 
 What would become of her and the golden 
 apples ? And what would the gods of Asgard 
 do without them? 
 
 Now for some time the gods did not miss 
 Idun. But after a while they began to feel 
 tired and old, and then they remembered that 
 they had not seen her of late. So they looked 
 for her everywhere, but they did not find her. 
 Where could she be? 
 
 All at once Odin, the great Father God, 
 had an idea. ''That mischief-maker, Loki, is 
 at the bottom of this, you may be sure,'^ said 
 he, and he sent for Loki. At first Loki said 
 that he did not know where Idun was ; but, 
 when they questioned him hard, and threat- 
 ened him, he at last laughed and told them 
 the whole story. 
 
 250 
 
Oh, how angry the gods were ! Odin threat- 
 ened to kill Loki unless he Q:ot Idiin and her 
 apples back into Asgard. Then Loki really 
 became frightened, and promised to go and 
 get Idun back, if Freva would lend him her 
 falcon plumes as a disguise. 
 
 Freya was very willing to let Loki have 
 her falcon plumes, so away he flew to Thi- 
 assi's castle. 
 
 Meanwhile Idun had been very lonely. 
 Thiassi's castle was up on the top of a bare and 
 stony mountain, by the side of the sea. And 
 because she wouldn't let him taste the golden 
 apples Thiassi had been very cross to Idun, 
 and shut her up in a high tower all by her- 
 self. She was looking out of the window one 
 day, wishing she was back in Asgard, when 
 suddenly a great falcon lit on the window sill. 
 
 ''Come with me," he said. "I will take 
 you back to Asgard.'' 
 
 Now, Idun knew it was Loki by his big red 
 
 251 
 
eyes, so she said : " Yes, yes, Loki, I want to 
 go back, but how am I to get out of this 
 strong tower? And if I get out how are you 
 to carry me and my casket of apples. I can- 
 not leave them behind." 
 
 But Loki had thought of a plan. By his 
 magic art he quickly changed Idun into a 
 nut. Then he took the nut in one of his 
 talons and the casket in another, and started 
 to fly off to Asgard. 
 
 Now, when Loki came to the castle, Thiassi^ 
 the storm giant, had been off fishing. He 
 
 252 
 
came home rather earher than usual, to see 
 if he couldn't get Idun to give him a taste of 
 the magic apples, and when he found she 
 Tvas gone he was very angry. He at once 
 changed himself into an eagle, and flew out 
 oyer the sea, looking eyer}^here for Idun. 
 
 After a while, he saw, away in the dim dis- 
 tance, a falcon flying towards Asgard. Look- 
 ing more closely, he saw that the falcon held 
 in his talons the o:olden casket, or;leamino; in 
 the sunlight. Then he knew that the falcon 
 was one of the gods in disguise, who had 
 come to rescue Idun. 
 
 I will catch him yet ! said Thiassi, and 
 he beat the air with his great wings, and flew 
 after Loki with the speed of the wind. 
 
 The falcon flew fast, but the eagle flew 
 faster. Loki put forth all his strength, but in 
 spite of all his efforts the storm giant gained 
 on him. 
 
 Meanwhile, some one in Asgard had seen 
 
 253 
 
Loki coming and had spread the news, and 
 all of the gods had gone up on the walls to 
 watch the race. Then some one thought of 
 an old trick to catch the storm god. The 
 gods made a great pile of shavings and sticks 
 on the wall, all ready to light at the right 
 moment. 
 
 This was hardly done when Loki, putting 
 forth all his strength, flew over the wall into 
 Asgard. After him came the eagle with rush- 
 ing wings. Just then the great pile of shav- 
 ings and sticks was lighted. Up it blazed! 
 Poor Thiassi, his eyes blinded with smoke 
 and his wings singed with flame, fell to the 
 ground and was put to death by the gods. 
 
 In a moment Loki and Idun took their 
 real shapes, and all was peace again in Asgard. 
 Every day the fair Idun played with her golden 
 apples, and every morning the gods tasted 
 them and kept ever fresh and young. 
 
 254, 
 
SPEING 
 
 The alder by the river 
 
 Shakes out her powdery curls ; 
 The willow buds in silver 
 
 For little boys and girls. 
 
 The little birds fly over^ 
 
 And, oh, how sweet they sing ! 
 To tell the happy children 
 
 That once again 'tis spring. 
 
 The gay green grass comes creeping 
 So soft beneath their feet; 
 
 The frogs begin to ripple 
 A music clear and sweet. 
 
 And buttercups are coming, 
 
 And scarlet columbine, 
 And in the sunny meadows 
 
 The dandelions shine. 
 
 255 
 
And just as many daisies 
 
 As their soft hands can hold 
 
 The httle ones may gather 
 All fair in white and gold. 
 
 Here blows the warm red clover, 
 There peeps the violet blue ; 
 
 O happy little children ! 
 
 God made them all for you. 
 
 Celia Thaxtee. 
 
 256 
 
HOW ANDY HELPED TO CAPTURE THE 
 
 REDCOATS 
 
 Andy Ramsay lived with his father and 
 mother on a httle farm in the mountains of 
 South Carohna. As his parents were poor, 
 Andy had to help them in every way that he 
 could. He drove the cows to the pasture in 
 the morning, and drove them back to the barn 
 at night, and when his father was away from 
 home Andy often milked them. He sawed 
 and split wood, and brought it into the house 
 for his mother. As soon as he was old enough, 
 he helped with the ploughing and haying. 
 
 Though Andy's father and mother found a 
 great deal for him to do, he had plenty of 
 time for himself He loved to roam through 
 the woods with an old flint-lock gun, hunting 
 for partridges and rabbits, and he often went 
 fishing in the neighboring brooks. 
 
 When Andy was twelve or thirteen years 
 old, the war of the Revolution broke out. 
 
 257 
 
The British captured Charleston, and some- 
 times their raiding parties came up into the 
 mountains as far as Andy^s home. 
 
 One day a British officer and four soldiers 
 stopped at the house, noping to capture Andy's 
 father. But he heard them coming, and suc- 
 ceeded in escaping to the woods just in time. 
 Angry at missing the ''rebel/' as they called 
 him, the soldiers made themselves very disa- 
 greeable. They tramped about the house, ask- 
 ing for things to eat and drink. They talked 
 very roughly, and boasted loudly of what they 
 were going to do to the rebels that they caught. 
 
 258 
 
When they had eaten and drunk all they 
 wanted, they went out into the yard and began 
 to chase the chickens and ducks about and 
 to kill them. 
 
 Andy's mother begged and scolded, but all 
 to no purpose. The soldiers only laughed at 
 her, and took what they wanted. After a 
 while, they went away. 
 
 They had been gone only a few minutes, 
 when Horseshoe Robinson, a daring frontier 
 soldier and scout, rode up to the house. 
 
 On learning that the Redcoats had just 
 left, he immediately began to plan to capture 
 them. While he was talking to Mrs. Ramsay 
 it began to rain. 
 
 Ah ! " said he, suddenly, the Redcoats 
 will make for the nearest shelter. Isn't there 
 an old field about a mile down the road ? 
 
 "Yes,'' said Mrs. Ramsay, ''and an old log 
 cabin in the middle of it." 
 Does anyone live there ? " 
 
 259 
 
"Nobody has lived there for years/' 
 
 "They will surely go in there." 
 
 " Have you any arms in the house ? 
 
 "A rifle and a horse-pistol." 
 
 " Bring them to me^ and any powder and 
 bullets that you have." 
 
 Mrs. Ramsay did as the scout had asked. 
 
 " Now, where is Andy ? " he asked. 
 
 Mrs. Ramsay called the boy in. 
 
 " Well, Andy/' said the scout, how would 
 you like a brush with the Redcoats that stole 
 your mother's chickens ? " 
 
 That would be fine ! " said Andy ; only 
 tell me what to do." 
 
 Horseshoe loaded the gun and the pistol. 
 Then, taking the gun himself, he gave the 
 pistol to Andy. 
 
 We'll capture the rascals," he said to Mrs. 
 Ramsay. Then he mounted his horse, and, 
 taking Andy up behind him, he rode off down 
 the road. 
 
 260 
 
When they reached the old field, they saw 
 smoke rising from the chimney of the old 
 house. The Redcoats were there. Placing 
 Andy behind a tree, Horseshoe galloped up 
 to the door of the cabin, and, leaping from 
 
 261 
 
his horse, went inside. The five soldiers were 
 gathered round a fire at the farther end of 
 the room^ and their guns were standing in 
 the corner by the door. 
 
 Halt ! File off right and left to both sides 
 of the house and wait orders/' called out the 
 scout over his shoulder to imaginary soldiers 
 outside. Now, surrender, all of you ! " he cried 
 to the Redcoats, at the same time raising his 
 musket to his shoulder. 
 
 Leap to your arms ! called the oflQcer. 
 
 Hold on ! shouted Horseshoe. If you 
 stir hand or foot you'll never answer the roll- 
 call again." 
 
 The soldiers, uncertain what to do, stood 
 for a moment eyeing the bold scout. 
 
 Just at this moment Andy appeared at the 
 door, pistol in hand. 
 
 ''Shall I let loose on them. Captain?" he 
 asked. 
 
 Come on, boys ! " he shouted, turning his 
 
 262 
 
face to the door, as if calling to soldiers out- 
 side. 
 
 "Keep them outside, Andy," said Horse- 
 shoe. Then he went on speaking to the officer. 
 
 " It's not worth while fighting five to one, sir. 
 You may as well surrender to my little army." 
 
 At this moment Andy called several times, 
 as if giving orders to soldiers outside the house. 
 
 The British officer was deceived. " Lower 
 your rifle," said he. " We have been surprised 
 by greater numbers and without arms. It is 
 my duty to save bloodshed. If you will prom- 
 ise me fair treatment as prisoners of war, I 
 will surrender." 
 
 ''Certainly, sir," replied the scout. ''You 
 shall be treated like brave men. Eight hand 
 file, advance and take the arms of the prisoners." 
 
 "Here, Captain," said Andy, and coming 
 into the house he took the guns that stood 
 in the corner and carried them out. 
 
 "Now, sir," said Horseshoe to the officer, 
 
 263 
 
'''your sword and any other arms that you 
 have about you." 
 
 The officer gave up his sword and a pair 
 of pocket-pistols. 
 
 264 
 
Now/' said the scout, you shall be treated 
 like men who have done their duty. You will 
 all walk out and form yourselves in line at 
 the door. My men will not hurt you." 
 
 The Redcoats came out of the house ex- 
 pecting to find a large force of soldiers. 
 Imagine their anger and disgust when they 
 found only a man, a boy, and a horse. For 
 a moment they seemed about to turn upon 
 their captors. But Horseshoe at once raised 
 his gun to his shoulder, and ordered Andy to 
 shoot the first man who moved. 
 
 " By my hand," said he, " if you make any 
 trouble, I will thin your numbers with your 
 own muskets." 
 
 You have my word, sir," said the officer ; 
 lead on ! " 
 
 " No ! " said the scout, " you shall have the 
 post of honor and go ahead yourselves." 
 
 So down the road they went, back towards 
 Andy's home, the prisoners marching ahead, 
 
 265 
 
Horseshoe following, musket in one hand and 
 his horse's bridle in the other, and Andy 
 bringing up the rear. 
 
 As they entered the yard, Mrs. Eamsay 
 came to the door in astonishment. 
 
 "Well," said Horseshoe, ''I have brought 
 your ducks and chickens back to you, and, 
 what is better still, I have brought home a 
 young soldier that is worth his weight in 
 gold.'' 
 
 " Heaven bless my child ! My brave boy ! " 
 cried the mother, seizing Andy in her arms. 
 Did he behave well, Mr. Eobinson ? " 
 
 " A little bolder than I wanted him to be," 
 said Horseshoe, ''but he did mighty well. 
 These are his prisoners. Mistress Ramsay. I 
 should never have got them if it hadn't been 
 for Andy. Show me another boy in America 
 that has made more prisoners than there were 
 men to fight with, that's all ! " 
 
 John P. Kennedy (adapted.) 
 
 266 
 
THE FLAG 
 
 Your flag and my flag, 
 
 And how it flies to-day 
 In your land and my land 
 
 And half the world away. 
 Eose red and blood red 
 
 Its stripes forever gleam, 
 Soul white and snow white, 
 
 The good forefathers' dream. 
 Sky blue and true blue, 
 
 ATith stars to gleam aright, 
 A golden guidon in the day, 
 
 A shelter through the night. 
 
 Your flag and my flag, 
 
 And 0, how much it holds — 
 Your land and my land 
 
 Secure within its folds ; 
 Your heart and my heart 
 
 267 
 
Beat quicker at the sight, 
 Sun kissed and wind tossed, 
 
 The red and blue and white. 
 The one flag, the great flag. 
 
 The flag for me and you — 
 Glorified all else beside. 
 
 The red and white and blue. 
 
 W. B. Nesbit. 
 
 268 
 
HOW TEMPIE SAVED HER HOESE 
 
 Tempie Hicks lived near Morristown, New 
 Jersey. Her father was a farmer, and kept 
 horses and cows and pigs and other farm 
 animals, so it was quite natural that Tempie 
 should come to love horses. She had learned 
 to ride when she was a very little girl indeed^ 
 and when she grew older her father gave her 
 a horse of her own. What a happy girl 
 Tempie was ! She named her horse Flora, 
 and soon they became great friends. Many 
 happy hours they spent together on the coun- 
 try roads. 
 
 But at last troubled times came. General 
 Washington's army camped not far from Mor- 
 ristown, and after a time some British soldiers 
 came too^ and settled down not far away. 
 Temple's father and mother warned her to be 
 careful, and not to go far from home alone, 
 and Tempie tried always to remember what 
 
 269 
 
they said. But Flora's heels were so light 
 that sometimes before Tempie knew it she 
 had ridden a long, long way from home. 
 
 One day in early summer, Tempie was rid- 
 ing through some shady woods a mile or so 
 from home. Suddenly some British soldiers 
 stepped into the road, and the leader took 
 Flora by the reins. 
 
 ''Don't be frightened, little girl," he said. 
 ''No one is going to hurt you." 
 
 Now Tempie was really very much fright- 
 ened. Her heart had jumped into her mouth, 
 when the soldiers had suddenly stopped her. 
 But she tried not to show it, and though her 
 hands trembled a little her voice sounded 
 very brave as she asked : 
 
 " What do you want of me ? " 
 
 "We don't want you at all," said the 
 leader. " We want your horse." 
 
 Tempie gave a little cry. " Oh ! but I won't 
 let you have Flora." 
 
 270 
 
I'm sorry, little girl, but we shall have to 
 take her/' said the soldier. " The captain's 
 horse died yesterday, and we must get another 
 for him, so get right down." 
 
 Poor Tempie ! For an instant she felt like 
 crying. She loved her beautiful horse very 
 dearly, and she could not bear to think of 
 giving her up to a stranger. But there seemed 
 to be nothing else to do. 
 
 ''Very well," she said at last, and moved 
 in her saddle as if she were about to get off. 
 
 Just then something attracted the attention 
 of the officer. He let go Flora's bridle, and 
 looked back down the road. 
 
 At once Tempie gave Flora a sharp cut with 
 her riding-whip. The horse gave a great leap, 
 and galloped swiftly down the road. 
 
 The soldiers were so surprised that at first 
 they stood still, staring after the little girl. 
 Then they began to shout, Come back, come 
 back," and to run after her. One of them 
 
 271 
 
fired his gun in the air, hoping that she would 
 be frightened and stop. 
 
 But Tempie was full of hope now. She 
 meant to save Flora if she possibly could ; so 
 down the road she went at a mad gallop. ^ 
 She did not stop till she drew up in the back'., 
 yard of her father's house. 
 
 Here Tempie jumped quickly from her 
 horse. What should she do now? She felt 
 sure that the soldiers would follow her, and 
 
 272 
 
search everj^here for Flora. It would never 
 do to put her into the stable. They would 
 find her there at once. Perhaps she might 
 hide the horse in the woods. But to get there 
 Tempie would have to ride some distance 
 through the open fields, and she feared that 
 the soldiers would see her. 
 
 All at once Tempie gave a little laugh. I 
 have it ! she cried. She opened the kitchen 
 door and led Flora inside. Poor Flora did 
 not know what to make of such behavior. 
 She had never been in the house before, and 
 she sniffed and snorted as she looked about. 
 But Tempie patted her neck and rubbed her 
 nose. On into the dining-room she led her 
 surprised horse ; and then into the parlor. 
 
 Behind the parlor there was a small bed- 
 room that was not often used. Into this bed- 
 room Tempie led Flora, and tied her to the 
 post of the bed. Then running to the barn 
 she brought in two or three armfuls of hay, 
 
 273 
 
to put on the floor under Flora's feet. Then 
 she closed and locked the bedroom door. 
 
 A few minutes later the soldiers came run- 
 ning up to the house. The officer was very 
 hot and very angry. ''You little rebel/' he 
 cried^ as soon as he saw Tempie. "You 
 played me a pretty trick, but it shall not save 
 your horse. Our captain shall have her in 
 spite of you." 
 
 Very well," said the little girl with a smile, 
 ''but you will have to find her yourself" 
 
 The soldiers looked through the barn and 
 the woodshed, and some of them even went 
 out to the pasture. But no horse could be 
 found. Then they came into the house and 
 looked into the kitchen, the dining-room .and 
 the parlor ; but they never thought of looking 
 into the little back bedroom. 
 
 They were a very angry lot of men, you 
 may be sure. They stormed and they scolded. 
 They talked roughly to Tempie, and tried to 
 
 274 
 
make her tell what she had done with her 
 horse. But Tempie only smiled and said : 
 ^'You will have to find her vom^self." 
 
 At last the soldiers went away. A little 
 girl had been too clever for them. 
 
 For three or four weeks Tempie kept Flora 
 in the little back bedroom, feeding and caring 
 for her. Then the British soldiers marched 
 away to Xew York, and Tempie never saw 
 them again. 
 
 As soon as they were gone, Tempie untied 
 Flora from the bed-post, and led her out 
 through the house into the back yard. AYe'll 
 have lots of nice rides yet," she saidj as she 
 gave Flora a big lump of sugar. 
 
 Flora pricked up her ears, and looked very 
 happy as she crunched the sugar. If she 
 could have spoken I'm sure she would have 
 said : " Thank you, dear Tempie, you are a 
 very brave and very wise little mistress.'^ 
 
 275 
 
DANDELION 
 I saw him peeping from my lawn, 
 
 A tiny spot of yellow^ 
 His face was one substantial smile — 
 
 The jolly little fellow. 
 
 I think he wore a doublet green, 
 His golden skirt tucked under; 
 
 He carried, too, a sword so sharp 
 That I could only wonder. 
 
 ''Are you a soldier^ little man, 
 You, with your face so sunny ? 
 
 The fellow answered not a word ; 
 I thought it very funny. 
 
I left him there to guard my lawn 
 From robins bent on plunder, 
 
 The soldier lad with doublet green^ 
 His yellow skirt tucked under. 
 
 The days passed on — one afternoon 
 
 As I was out a-walking, 
 Whom should I meet upon the lawn 
 
 But soldier lad a-stalking. 
 
 His head, alas ! was white as snow, 
 
 And it was all a-tremble ; 
 Ah! scarce did this old veteran 
 
 My bonny lad resemble. 
 
 I bent to speak with pitying word — 
 
 Alas ! for good intention ; 
 His snowy locks blew quite away — 
 
 The rest we will not mention. 
 
 KA.Tr Louise Bro\w. 
 
 277 
 
KING GRISLY-BEARD 
 
 There was once a king who had a daughter 
 that was very beautiful^ but also very haughty 
 and conceited. She thought that none of the 
 princes who came to ask her hand in mar- 
 riage was good enough for her^ and only 
 made fun of them. 
 
 One day the king held a great feast, and in- 
 vited all her suitors. They sat in a row accord- 
 ing to their rank, and the haughty princess 
 had something spiteful to say to every one. 
 
 The first was very fat. When the princess 
 
 278 
 
looked at him she laughed rudely, and cried 
 out so loudly that everybody could hear : Why, 
 he is as round as a tub ! " 
 
 The next was very tall. " Oh ! " cried the 
 princess, what a maypole he is ! " 
 
 The next was very short. What ! Marry 
 a dumpling like that ? " she cried. 
 
 So she went on, cracking jokes upon every 
 one, but she laughed most of all at a good 
 king who was there. 
 
 Look at him ! " she said. His beard is 
 like an old mop. He ought to be called 
 Grisly-Beard." 
 
 Now, the old king, her father, was very 
 angry at his daughter's behavior, and he de- 
 clared that, willing or unwilling, she should 
 marry the first beggar that came to the door. 
 
 At this the princess laughed and tossed 
 her head. She did not believe that her father 
 really meant what he said. 
 
 Two days later a minstrel came beneath 
 
 279 
 
the palace windows, and began to play and 
 sing. The king was delighted with his song. 
 
 " Ha, ha ! he cried. This is the very man 
 I am looking for.'' 
 
 So when the minstrel had finished, the 
 ''king sent for him, and said : 
 
 ''You have sung so well that I will give 
 you my daughter for a wife." 
 
 Now the princess w^as terribly frightened, 
 and begged and prayed her father not to do 
 such a dreadful thing. But her father said : 
 '' I have declared that I would give you to 
 the first beggar that came to the door, and I 
 mean to keep my word." 
 
 So, in spite of her tears and prayers, the 
 princess was married to the minstrel. 
 
 The beggar took his wife away, and made 
 her walk beside him on foot. Soon they came 
 to a great wood. 
 
 " To whom does this beautiful wood belong ?" 
 asked the princess. 
 
 280 
 
" It belongs to King Grisly-Beard/' answered 
 the beggar. " If you had married him it would 
 have been yours." 
 
 " Ah^ unlucky woman that I am ! " she sighed. 
 " I wish that I had married King Grisly-Beard ! 
 
 Next they came to some fine meadows. 
 
 " Whose beautiful meadows are these ? 
 asked the princess. 
 
 "They belong to King Grisly-Beard/' said 
 her husband. "If you had married him they 
 would have been yours." 
 
 " Ah, unlucky woman that I am ! " she 
 cried. " I wish that I had married King Grisly- 
 Beard ! " 
 
 Then they came to a great city. 
 " Whose noble city is this ? asked the 
 princess. 
 
 "It belongs to King Grisly-Beard/' answered 
 the beggar. " If you had married him it would 
 have been yours.'' 
 
 " Ah, miserable woman that I am ! " moaned 
 
 282 
 
the princess. ''Why did I not marry good 
 King Grisly-Beard ? " 
 
 ''That is no business of mine/' said the 
 beggar. "Why do you keep wishing for an- 
 other husband? Am I not good enough for 
 you ? " 
 
 At last they came to a tumble-down cot- 
 tage. 
 
 "To whom does that poor hovel belong?'' 
 asked the princess. 
 
 "That is our house, where we are to live/' 
 replied her husband. 
 
 '' But where are the servants ? '' cried his 
 wife. 
 
 " Servants ! We have no servants," ex- 
 claimed the beggar. "You must do for your- 
 self whatever is to be done. Now make the 
 fire and cook my supper, for I am tired and 
 hungry.'' 
 
 But the princess knew nothing of making 
 fires and cooking suppers, and the beggar had 
 
 283 
 
to show her how. When they had finished a 
 scanty meal they went to bed. But very early 
 the next morning the minstrel aroused his 
 wife to get up and clean the house. 
 
 For a few days they lived in this way. 
 Then, when they had eaten up all the food 
 there was in the cottage, the man said : 
 
 ''Wife, we can't go on like this, spending 
 money and earning nothing. You must learn 
 to weave baskets.'' 
 
 284 
 
And he went out and cut some willows. 
 These he brought home and set the princess 
 to weaving them. But the work made her 
 fingers very sore. 
 
 " I see this won't do," he said. We must 
 try spinning ; perhaps you will do that better." 
 
 So the princess sat down and tried to spin ; 
 but the threads cut her tender fingers until 
 the blood ran. 
 
 You are good for nothing ! " exclaimed her 
 husband crossly. I made a bad bargain when 
 I married you. The only thing left is to try 
 to set up a business in pots and pans. You 
 shall sit in the market and sell them." 
 
 Oh ! " cried the princess, if anybody 
 from my father's court passes by, and sees me 
 standing in the market-place selling pots and 
 'pans, I shall die of shame." 
 
 But the beggar did not care for that. He. 
 said that unless she did some work she would 
 die of hunger. So the princess was obliged 
 
 285 
 
to stand in the market-place selling pots and 
 pans. 
 
 At first all went well^ for the princess was 
 so beautiful that many people bought her 
 wares. Some even paid their money and left 
 the goods behind. When all the pots and 
 pans were gone, the husband bought some 
 more, and once again the princess sat down 
 with them in the corner of the market-place. 
 
 But scarcely had she settled herself and 
 her goods, when a drunken soldier came by. 
 Eiding his horse right against her stall, he 
 shattered the crockery into a thousand pieces. 
 
 286 
 
The princess began to cry, and ran home 
 to her husband, weeping bitterly. When he 
 had heard her story he cried out angrily : 
 '^Simpleton that you are, to put a stall of 
 earthenware at the corner of the market, 
 where eyerybody passes by! I see you are 
 no use at any sort of work. But there — leaye 
 off crying. They want a kitchen-maid at the 
 king's palace, and I haye got you the place. 
 You will haye plenty to eat there." 
 
 So the princess became a kitchen-maid, 
 and did all the dirty work for the cook. In 
 return for her seryices, she was allowed to 
 take home some of the food that was left. 
 On this she and her husband liyed. 
 
 Not long afterwards she heard that the king 
 was to be married. Then a great feast took 
 place in the palace. After her work was done, 
 the poor wife placed herself near the door of 
 the great hall, and looked at all the pomp 
 and splendor of the court. She thought of 
 
 287 
 
her own sad fate, and grieved bitterly for the 
 pride and folly which had brought her so low. 
 
 As she stood there, with tears running 
 down her face, the king himself entered. He 
 was clothed in silk and velvet, with a gold 
 chain round his neck. When he saw the 
 beautiful princess standing by the door, he 
 seized her by the hand, and said that she 
 should be his partner in the dance. But she 
 trembled for fear, for she saw that it was 
 King Grisly-Beard who was making fun of her. 
 
 However, in spite of her struggles to escape, 
 he kept fast hold of her, and drew her into 
 the room. Then all at once the parcel of 
 food which she held under her arm fell to 
 the ground and burst open, and all the scraps 
 of meat and food lay on the floor. At this 
 sight all the court laughed and mocked at 
 her. Then the poor princess drooped her 
 ^ head, and wished that the earth would open 
 and swallow her up. 
 
 288 
 
She wrenched her hand from King Grisly- 
 Beard, and rushed towards the door. But the 
 king was too quick for her. He was there 
 before her, and caught her in his arms, saying : 
 
 "Do not be afraid. I am the beggar who 
 hved with you in the hut, and I am the drunken 
 soidier who overset your stall in the market- 
 place. I have only done all this because I 
 loved you, and because I wished to cure you 
 of your pride. Now all your trials are over, 
 and we will celebrate our marriage.^' 
 
 Then beautiful dresses were brought for the 
 princess, and her father and all his court came 
 in and wished her happiness. The wedding 
 feast was the grandest that ever took place, 
 and the princess began her happy reign over 
 the country of King Grisly-Beard. 
 
 289 
 
A PROUD KING 
 
 Robert of Sicily was a proud and powerful 
 king. It was not strange, perhaps, that he 
 should be proud ; for one of his brothers was 
 emperor of AUemaine, and another was pope 
 at Rome. Still, it was not right for him to look 
 down with scorn upon others, and to think 
 himself the wisest and greatest king in the 
 whole world. 
 
 Now it happened that on the eve of Saint 
 John's day King Robert went to church with 
 his knights and attendants. One of the hymns 
 that was sung contained the words : God 
 hath cast down the mighty from their seats, 
 and exalted them of low degree." As the 
 words of the hymn were in Latin, the king 
 did not understand them, so he asked what 
 they meant. When he was told, he sneered 
 
 290 
 
and said : " What silly things the priests say ! 
 It is well that they speak in Latin. I rule 
 by my own greatness, and no power in heaven 
 or earth could push me from my throne." 
 
 The service was long, and after a while the 
 king fell asleep. When he awoke, the church 
 was dark, and everyone was gone. 
 
 The king was very angry at the thought 
 that everybody had gone away and left him 
 there alone. He rushed to the door, and be- 
 gan to pound upon it and to call. 
 
 After a time, the sexton came to see what 
 was the matter. 
 
 " Let me out ! " cried Robert. " I am the 
 
 291 
 
king ! " The sexton did not believe the king, 
 but he let him out of the church. 
 
 Eobert rushed away to his palace^ and at 
 last came into the banquet-hall, without cloak 
 and hat, and all out of breath. There, to his 
 surprise, he saw some one sitting on the 
 throne who looked just like himself. It was 
 really an angel, but everyone thought it was 
 the king. 
 
 Who art thou ? " asked the angel. 
 
 "I am the king,'' cried Eobert. 
 
 At this all the knights and attendants were 
 very much surprised and very angry. Some 
 of them rushed upon Robert to throw him 
 from the room. 
 
 But the angel stopped them and said: ''No, 
 you are not the king, but the king's jester. 
 From now on you shall wear a cap and bells, and 
 have an ape for a companion day and night." 
 
 Poor Robert! He knew that he was really 
 the king, but he could not make anyone believe 
 
 292 
 
it. The court attendants only laughed at him, 
 and pushed him out of the palace. 
 
 Next morning he awoke with a start. Per- 
 haps he'' had only been dreaming. But no ! 
 He found himself in a stable, lying on a bed 
 of straw, and by his side sat a monkey. 
 
 He who had been the king had now, because 
 
 293 
 
of his pride^ become the king's fool. He wore 
 poor clothes, ate the coarsest food, and was 
 roughly treated by everyone. 
 
 But, though his body was ill-treated, his 
 spirit remained firm. Whenever he met the 
 angel, who was now called the king, the angel 
 would ask, Art thou the king ? and Eobert 
 would hold up his head and answer proudly, 
 ''I am the king.'' 
 
 Three years went by, and all the great princes 
 and high officers of the church went to Eome 
 for the great Easter festival. The angel went 
 as the king, and Robert followed as the king's 
 jester. 
 
 Now, Eobert thought that the pope would 
 surely know him. So when the king and the 
 court from Sicily were received by the pope, 
 Robert ran forward, crying, "I am the king! 
 I am your brother. King Robert. Don't you 
 know me ? " 
 
 Poor Robert! Even the pope, his brother, 
 
 294 
 
did not know him, and only thought him crazy. 
 Some one threw him back into the crowd, 
 and Robert went away broken-hearted. 
 
 During the Easter festival, Robert thought 
 a great deal about his past life. He soon be- 
 gan to see that he had been very proud and 
 selfish, and he began to feel sorry that he had 
 not been more kind to others. So little by 
 little his pride all melted away. 
 
 When the angel and his companions went 
 back to Sicily, Robert was a changed man, 
 and when the angel again asked, "Art thou 
 the king ? " Robert answered : " Thou knowest 
 best. My sins are many. Let me pray that 
 they may be forgiven. 
 
 The angel smiled. Through the windows 
 they could hear the monks singing : " He hath 
 cast down the mighty from their seats, and 
 exalted them of low degree." Then Robert 
 heard another song, the far-off voice of the 
 angel singing: 
 
 295 
 
I am an angel 
 Thou art the king.'' 
 
 When the song was finished, Robert looked 
 up, and behold! he was alone. His cap and 
 bells were gone. The ape had disappeared, 
 and he himself was dressed in the kingly robes. 
 But King Robert of Sicily was a changed man. 
 He was proud no longer. When his knights 
 came, they found him kneeling on the floor 
 in prayer. 
 
 296 
 
HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD 
 
 There the Avrinkled old Xokomis 
 Xursed the httle Hiawatha, 
 Eocked hmi in his hiiden cradle, 
 Bedded soft in moss and rushes, 
 Safely bound with reindeer sinews ; 
 Stilled his fretful wail bv saA^no:, 
 
 Hush I the Xaked Bear will hear thee ! 
 Lulled him into slumber. sino:ina\ 
 " Ewa-vea I my little owlet ! 
 Who is this, that lights the wigwam? 
 With his great eyes lights the wigwam? 
 Ewa-yea ! my little owlet ! " 
 
 297 
 
At the door on summer evenings 
 Sat the httle Hiawatha ; 
 Heard the whispering of the pine-trees^ 
 Heard the lapping of the waters. 
 Sounds of music^ words of wonder; 
 Minne-wawa ! " said the pine-trees, 
 Mudway-aushka ! " said the water. 
 Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee, 
 Fhtting through the dusk of evening, 
 With the twinkle of its candle 
 Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
 And he sang the song of children, 
 Sang the song Nokomis taught him : 
 " Wah-wah-taysee, little flre-fly. 
 Little, flitting, white-flre insect, 
 Little, dancing, white-fire creature, 
 Light me with your little candle. 
 Ere upon my bed I lay me, 
 Ere in sleep I close my eyelids ! 
 
 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow^ 
 
 298 
 
WHY THE CHIPMUNK'S BACK IS STRIPED 
 
 What I shall tell you now happened when 
 the world was young. It was a fine summer 
 day, and Old-man was travelling in the forest. 
 He was going north and straight as an arrow, 
 looking at nothing, hearing nothing. Xo one 
 knows what he was after, to this day. 
 
 Towards sunset he heard a noise as of men 
 fighting, and he stopped to look and listen. 
 Finally he saw the bushes bend and sway near 
 a creek that flowed through the forest. He 
 crawled towards the spot. and. peering through 
 the brush, saw a great Person near a pile of 
 dead men, with his back against a pine-tree. 
 The Person was full of arrows, and he was 
 pulling them from his ugly body. His head 
 was large and fierce-looking, and his eyes 
 were small and wicked. His great body was 
 larger than that of a buffalo bull, and covered 
 with scars of many battles. 
 
 299 
 
Old-man went to the creek, and with his 
 buffalo-horn cup brought some water to the 
 Person, asking as he came near : 
 
 Who are you, Person ? Tell me, so I can 
 make you a fine present ; for you are great 
 in war." 
 
 "I am Bad Sickness," said the Person. 
 " The bravest warriors are afraid when I make 
 war upon them. I come in the night, or I 
 visit their camps in daylight. It is always the 
 same ; they are frightened, and I kill them 
 easily." 
 
 " Ho ! " said Old-man ; " tell me how to make 
 Bad Sickness, for I often go to war myself." 
 
 The Person shook his ugly head, and then 
 Old-man said : 
 
 If you will tell me how to make Bad Sick- 
 ness I will make you small and handsome. 
 When you are big, as you are now, it is very 
 hard to make a living ; but when you are small, 
 little food will make you fat. Your living will 
 
 300 
 
be easy' because I will make your food grow 
 everywhere." 
 
 Good/' said the Person, I will do it. 
 You must kill the fawns of the deer and the 
 calves of the elk, and make a robe of their 
 skins. Whenever you wear that robe and sing 
 'Now you sicken, now you sicken,' the sickness 
 will come, and there is all there is to it." 
 
 " Good ! " said Old-man ; " now lie down to 
 sleep, and I will do as I promised." 
 
 The Person went to sleep, and Old-man 
 breathed upon him until he grew very tiny. 
 Then Old-man took out his paint sack, and 
 striped the Person's back with black and yellow. 
 It looked very bright and handsome. Then 
 he waked the Person, who was now a tiny 
 animal with a bushy tail. 
 
 Now," said Old-man, you are the Chip- 
 munk, and must always wear those striped 
 clothes. AH of your children and their children 
 must wear them, too." , ; 
 
 301 
 
Then Old-man told him what to eat, and 
 said he must gather pine-nuts when the leaves 
 turned yellow, so he would not have to work 
 in the winter time. 
 
 "You are a cousin to the pine-squirrel/' 
 said Old-man, " and you will hunt and hide 
 as he does." 
 
 He taught the Chipmunk his language and 
 his signs, showed him where to live, and then 
 left him, going on towards the north again, 
 
 302 
 
He kept looking for the cow-elk and the doe- 
 deer, and it was not long before he had killed 
 enough of the young to make the robe, as the 
 Person told him. 
 
 He found a shady place near a creek, and 
 there made the robe that would make Bad 
 Sickness whenever he sang the queer song; 
 but the robe was plain, and brown in color. 
 
 Suddenly he thought how nice the back of 
 the Chipmunk looked after he had striped it 
 with his paints. So he got out his old paint 
 sack, and with the same colors made the robe 
 look very much like the clothes of the Chip- 
 munk. But Old-man was lazy ; he wanted to 
 save himself work. So he sent the South 
 Wind to tell all the doe-deer and the cow-elk 
 to come to him. 
 
 They came as soon as they received the 
 message, and when they had all reached the 
 place where Old-man was, he said to them- 
 
 " Do you see this robe ? " 
 
 303 
 
"Yes, we see it," they replied. 
 
 ''Well, I have made it from the skins of 
 your children, and then painted it to look 
 like the Chipmunk's back. I shall need many 
 more of these robes during my life ; and every 
 time I make one I don't want to have to spend 
 my time painting it. So from now on your 
 children shall be born in spotted clothes. 
 
 " On all of the fawns there must be spots of 
 white like this." Here he pointed to the spots 
 on Bad Sickness's robe. "And on all of the 
 elk-calves the spots shall not be so white, and 
 shall be in rows." 
 
 The cow-elk and the doe-deer were glad to 
 know that their children's clothes would be 
 beautiful, and they went away to their little 
 ones who were hidden in the tall grass. 
 
 Now you know why the Chipmunk's back 
 is striped, and why the fawn and elk-calf wear 
 their pretty clothes. ^ ^ ^ / i . 
 
 ^ ^ Frank B. Linderman (adapted). 
 
 304 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L. B. Cat. No. 1137 
 
Cd. 42S.6 M167N bk.3 
 
 Natural Hethod Headers 
 
 K167N Bk^3 locS^O