TIlE O:TARIO READERS
FIRST BOOK
AUTHORIZED BY
THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
Entered, according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the yea 1]-,
in the office o! the 3linister o! Agriculture by the
IINISTII OF EDUCATION FOI OTAP,10
TORONTO
+T. EATON
FIRST READER
MORNING HYMN
FATHER, we thank Thee fi,r the light,
And fi)r the blessings of the night;
For rest and tbod, and h,ving care,
And all that makes the worhi so thir.
Help us to do the things we should.
To 1,e to others kind and g.d ;
In all we do, in work {r play,
To grow more loving every day.
EVENING PRAYER
FATIIER, who keepest
The stars in Thv care,
Me, t,.,, Thv little one,
Childish in prayer,
Keep, as Thou keepest
The soft night through,
Thy hmg, white lilies
Asleel, in Thy dew.
"2 FI RST READER
THE SWING
How do you like t,, go Ul ill a swing,
['p in the air ,so l,lue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a ehihl can
Up in the air and over the wall.
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and tree.s and cattle and all
()vet the eountD-side
Till I look down on the garden 'een,
Down m the roof so 1)rown--
[-1 in the air I go flying again,
[-p in the air and down
WHO IS IT 5
' He went to catch dicky-1}ird,
And thought he could nt fail
Because he'd got a little salt.
To lint Ul.m its lail.'"
"Are you wee Willie Winkle
who runs through the town?"
"No, I never rtn tl)-,stairs and
(lown-stairs in my night-gown."
" Are you Peter Piper who pick-
ed a peck of pickled peppers ?"
" Why co,it you tell who I am ?"
" I would if I could, if I couldn't,
how could I ?"
" Why, Papa"
"Ah, now I knowfkther's little
girl."
THE LITTI.E NUT
. LITTLE ]ll'l,Wll ]lLIllV.
r,,und and wee.
Wiih kind win,l.
t,, rock him.
And Ire g'rew
and he grew, till
He lbll right m of
cradle ilie day.
D, iwii, t|,Jwn froin /he tree-top, a very bad
filll ]
But thi llleel ' litlle lllow was n hlil'
Now Soilnd and sweet lie lies dBvn in the
grass,
And there wm will find him whenever yo
Do ,'is VOll wmhl be dlie by.
It is never too late to mend.
BIRI) THOUGHTS 7
BIRI) THOUGHTS
I LIVED first in a little l,mse.
And lived there very well;
I thought tile worhl was small and round,
And made tf lmle blue shell.
I lived next in a little nest,
Nor needed any ,ther;
I tlt,ug'ht the world was made ,l" straw.
And lm,ded by my m,ther.
One day [ fluttered fl'om tile nest,
To see what I cmhl find.
I said, "The world is nmde ,1" leaxes--
l have 1,een very ldind.'"
At length I flew 1,ewmd tile tree,
Quite fit ti,r gn,wn-up
I don't know how tile world is made,
And neither d my neighl,mrs.
IF a task is once legun,
Never leave it till it's
ttOW DID HE DO IT 9
As he sat there a hare came
along.
" Why d, )', cry?" asked tle
hare.
"I (.ry because I cannot get the
goats out of the field," said the
l)oy.
"I'll do it," said lhc hare.
So he tried, but the gats would
]ot
Then the hare, o. sat d[w
cried.
Along came a fix. " Why
you .ry?" asked the fox.
" I am crying" lccause the I)oy
cries," said the hare. "The
is crying because he cannot get
three goats out of the turnip field."
" FII do it," said the fox.
HOli DID HE DO IT 11
hill and sw tltetn rill sitting there
crying.
" Why d volt cry'?" said the Iee
to the wolf'.
"[ am crying because the
cries. The tbx is crying Iecause
the hare cries. The hare cries le-
m. e the 1,v <.ties. The lv cries
because he camot ,,/ct the goats
out o1' lhe turnip field."
" I'll do it," said the Iee.
Then the big animals and the
by stopped cryin/ a noncnt to
laugh at the tiny Ice.
But the Iec flew away inlo the
turnip fiehl and alighted ]on one
of the goats, and said,
tlZ-Z=Z-Z-Z "
And out ran the goals, every ouel
EMIL POULSSON
THREE LITTLE KITTENS
"No, you slmll have no pie."
"Mce-ow, lnee-ow, IlI('(-(W.
The three little kittens fouud their
mittens,
And they began to cry,
"0 mother dear,
See here, see here!
See! we have tbund ,ur mittens."
"Put on your mittens,
You silly kigtens,
And you may have some l,ie."
"Purr-r, l,urr-r, l,urr,
O let us have the lie.
PHI'II' ]tUl'l=l' tlll'll'.
The three little kittens pt , their
mittens,
And soon ate up the lie;
"0 mother dear,
We greatly fear,
That we have s,iled our mittens."
13
THE cRI}W,,; AND THE WINDMILL
THE I'RlWs ANI THE WINI.Xll
TIIERE was oce a windmill tlmt
swung its arms r,,un,l an,[
,lay at%or ,lay. It ,lid no harm
an vl_. ,, Iv.
But there was a fick ,t" crws
living near wh did not like the
l>usy mill. They said it wante,1
kill some f them. What else
could it mean by swinging its great
arms the whole day long ?
FIRST READER
Bal,v. sleep a little l,mger,
Till the little limls are str,nger.
If she s]eel,s a ]ittic bmger.
Baln l, shall fly away.
A sE'RET
Where a I,alw is h,elfin V this nlOl'ninv,do
I lllink he is dreaming the deare.,.l t"
Of sons and I" sunshin.. I" liv I,r, nvn
wings.
l'll wll v,m a sect.---d,n't tell where
heard,--
The cradle's an e,an,! lhe lalv's a bil
Br: kind and 1,e gentle
T those v,-h, are old.
For dearer is kindness
And 1,etter than gold.
THE WINI) AND THE UN 19
THE WIND AND THE UN
"You can't do that."
20 FIRST READER
Just then a traveller was seen on
the highway.
"I can get that traveiler's coat, off
his back," said the cold, north wind.
".nd I can make that traveller
take his coat off in less time than
you can," answered the bright,
warm sun.
"' Try it," roared the cold, north
wind.
" You try it first," answered the
bright, warm sun.
So the north wind blew a furious
blast. The man was nearly blown
down. The clasp of his coat was
broken: but he held it close about
him and struggled on.
.tgain the north wind blew; but
the man only stood still, holding
THE WIND AND THE UIN 2]
his coat closer until the blast was
over.
" It is my turn now," said the
Slln. SO he cane out and poured
his hot rays straight down upon the
traveller.
" This is a strange climate," said
the traveller; "first so cold, /hen
so hot. I must take off this heavy
coat and here is a shady place 1)e-
neath this tree where I will sit
down and rest."
soe
A I)REA_RY place would le this earth
Were there no little leople in it,
The song of life would lse its lnirth
Were there no children to legin it.
WHITTIER
THE I,'RO(.AND THE (}X
ing himself
"Oh! Much bigger," replied
the little frogs.
A. big as thi.s, then. said lie,
swclling and lnlffing still harder.
"k great deal bi,,o'cr " said they:
"but father! do not try to make
yourself' as big. If yOll were to
l)Uff till you 1}urst you c(}uld not
make yourself half a.s lfig as this
huge lllOllster."
But the vain dd frog tried once
more, and with all his might" "As
big as"--and then something hap-
l)ened to the fi'og who had tried to
do what he was not meant to do.
DARE to be tme; nothing can. need a lie.
HERBERT
DOUBLE TROUBLE
And as to lfirthiays, we've lint {file
To Madge IIIHI Dollv's tw,,.
Wouhl vm like lhat if you were us,
And 1,}th of us were v,u ?
27
" It's ve,'v tryin,g when llllllllllla
Can't tell us lwo al,art.
You'd think by this time she'd have
'!'{ Wll
W{i kll{iw Ils 1.th l,v hem't Z
But iu ,ur 1,ietures even we
Aren't sure whid twin is who.
Oh. hmv we wih that w,u were
And lolh ff us were w,u.'"
PEEPINC,, leel>ing, here and there,
Ill lawn and meadows everywhere
Cmfing Ul to find the s 1 ""
I! 111'
And hear lhe robin redl,reast sing;
Cl'eelfing under children's tbet,
Ghmcing at the vilets sweet;
'e are small, lut thiuk a nlinute
Of a world wilh no grass in it
bctwee them, OlCnCd the wMt,
and gave this sentence. "One of
the hclls belongs to him who ws
the first to ,ce the walnut; the
other to him wh picked it Ul>.
As to the kernel, I keep it for
the costs of the court."
"This," added he, laughing, "is
often the end of lawsuits."
THE QUEER. LITTLE HOUSE
THERE'S a queer little house and it, stands
in the sun.
When the good mother calls the children
all run.
While trader her roof they are co and
WFII L
Though the cold -xind lnay whistle and
bluster and srm.
GREAT NOISE 31
A GREAT NOISE
ONCE Ul)m a time five raldits lived
near a lake in an old forest.
day lhey heard a great
noise, anal all rm away
as thst as lhcy coull.
The [xcs saw them
= running ani cnllci ot"
"Oh rabhits, why
[ yo run st and look
so scared?" The ral-
bits rcplie,l" "There
was a great ise."
Then the tbxe ran,
+ The I}ears saw the
' foxes running and ask-
- ed" "Oh tixes, why
you run?" The fbxes
said" "There was a great noise."
m .... -- ........... 00. "
34 FIRST READER
('HRISTMAS 3IORNING
ALL the 1,ells on earth slmll ring
On Christmas Day,
}n ('hristmas Day,
All the 1,ells on e:mh shall ring
ln Christmas Day in the
All lhe angels in heaven shall .sing
)n Christmas Day.
)n ('hristmas liar,
All the angels in heaven
l ln Christmas Day in
shall sing
the m,)rning.
Alld eVel'V Olle lilt earth
h Christmas ]lay,
On Christmas Day,
And every one on e;uh
)n Christmas Day in
shall sing
'" PEACE on the earth, g(v)d-will t men."
From tIeaven's all-gracious King!
The world h solemu stillness lay
To hear the Angels sing.
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
Oh'cE Ul}On a time a Hare overtook
a Tortoise on a road that led to a
large city.
" Good-,orlfil,g, fi'ic,,d Tortoise,"
said the llm'e. " Where are you
going to-day ?"
"I am going to the river that
flows through the city," said the
Tortoise.
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
When the tIare awoke fl'om his
nap he could not see the Tortoise,
so he said: "What a slow, ohl fel-
low he is! I shall g'o lack an,l
look fbr him," lint after g, fing back
some distance he cmld not find
him. Then he said t high,self: "I
think [ shall run on to the river,
get a ,lrink, and wait fi,r lhc Tor-
toise."
When the IIarc came racing
down to lhe river, there sat the
smiling Tortoise waiting for him.
"Well Well " said the Fox, " I
see that the race is not always won
by the swift."
soe
ALL that's great and good is done
just by patient trying.
THE FOX AND THE CAT 39
THE FOX AND THE CAT
ONE day a cat met a fix in the
woods. Now the cat knew that the
fox had seen a good deal of the
world, and she thought hiln very
clever and wise.
So she said: " Good-lnorning,
Mr. Fox, how are you?"
The proud fox looked at her
from head to foot and said: "How
dm-e you ask me how I am! Do
THE BELL OF ATRI 43
THE BEI,L IF ATRI
THE king of Atri 1)uilt a tall
tower and hulg a 1}ig 1}ell in it.
A long role hung t'rom tile bell to
the ground. " If' filly one does you
a wrong, ring this ])ell," said the
king, "then I shall know that some
one needs hell)."
Many l)eol,le rang the ],ellrich
l)eol)le and poor people, big l, eol,lc
and little people. But at length
FIRST READER
the rope was worn off till a man
could hardly reach it. Sme per-
son, l)assing l)y. saw this and
mended it with a long grape-
vine.
Sot far from the town lived a
faithful old horse, lie had worked
f'or his master many years and now
he was too old to work any more.
This unkind man would not feed
him 1)ut turned him out on the
street to starve.
The loor horse wandered about
until he saw the grape-vine. He
was hungry and tried t) eat it.
This made the bell ring, and the
king came to see who needed help.
When he saw .the starving horse he
sent for his master.
THE BELL OF ATRI 45
" This loor horse has served you
well nauy years." said lhe king.
" He is dd now and cannot work.
You nust take him back to his
stable, and t,ed and care fiw him
il" the rest
Then was
he led hone the hrsc and did
the king had mlercd.
f his life."
the uan ashamed, but
SNOW
THIS is tile way the snow comes down,
Softly, softly fidling;
So God giveth the snow like wool,
Fail' and white and 1,eautiflfl.
This is the way the snow c,mes dwn,
Softly, softh" tlling.
<'IS
WHENE'ER a snow-flake leaves the sky,
It turns and tuls to say: "Good-bye,
Good-bye, dear cloud, so cool and gray,"
Then lightly travels on its way.
THE WOLF AND TIlE {'A'I" 47
THE W()LF AND THE ('AT
.A 'I,F rail
out of'a for-
est into a
village, n o t
because it
wanted to
go there but
because the
houndswere
hunting it.
It saw a cat sitting Oll a gate
post and said, in its softest voice:
" Thomas, my fl'iend, tell me quick-
ly who is the kindest man in the
village, that I may hide in his bm'n
fl'om my foes. Do you hear the
cry of the dogs who are in search
of me ?"
FIRST READER
"Run quickly and ak Mr."mu,""
said Thomas; " he is a kind lnan."
"True." said the wdf, "but I
have killed (,he ,f his sheep."
"Well. then. try Mr. Br(wn."
"I t'ar he is vexed with me be-
cause I ate one of his gats."
" SUl)pse ym try Mr. Jones."
"Mr. Jones! Why I carried off
one of his calves last slring."
"So you have done harm to all
these leol>le. IIow can you ex-
pect help fi'om those whom you
have injured ?"
'" Oh, here are the hounds!" said
the trembling wolf, and he raced
away down the streets with the
dogs close behind.
"Yes," said the cat, " what one
SOWS he IIHIS + 'a+'
THE WIND AND THE LEAVES 9
THE WIN[) AND THE LEAVES
"CmTr:, little leaves," said the wind tree day;
"('ome o'er the meadows with me, and play.
l)uts)n vmr dresses I" red and ghl,--
Summer is g, me, and lhe days grow cold."
S[[m as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
}ver the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.
Dancing and flying, the little leaves went;
Winter had called them, and they were
content.
Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds,
The snow laid a ldanket over their heads.
GEORGE COOPER
THINK before you speak.
LooK before you leap.
ALWAYS do your best.
.O FIRST READER
PIPING DOWN THE VALLEYS WILI}
l'u'tx dwn he valleys wild.
l'ildn.,_," sm,,_,'s f ldeaalt Flee,
h a ('h,ud [ aw a child.
And he, lauvhing, said t me:
'" Pilot a smg al,mt a Laml! "
S) I lil)ed with mm'rv cheer.
"" Pil,el'. l,il,e that s,m
S [ piped: he welt t hear.
'" lh', l) th.v l)il)e, thv hal,ly l,ile;
Sing thv smgs )f ]Jal,l)y eheer "
So [ sang the same again.
Iile he wel,l with jff lo hear.
" Pil,er, sit thee dmvn and write
In a book, that all may read."
So he vanished fl'om my sight;
And I 1,lucked a hollow reed,
And I made a rural pen.
And [ stained the water clear.
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.
56 FIRST READER
IIe put it on the pony's foot with a
tap and a rap, and away rode the
boy--clipl)ety, elippety, clap[
MY LITTLE D(LL
I OXCE had a sweet little doll. dears,
The prettiest doll in the world;
Her cheeks were so red and so white, dears,
And her hair was s charmingly curled,
But I lost my 1,o.r little doll, dears,
As I played in the heath one day,
And I emed for her more than a week, dears,
But I never could find where she lay.
I fimnd my poor little doll. dears,
As I played in the heath one day;
F)lks say she is terril)lv changed, dears,
_ For her paint is all wa.hed away,
And her ann trodden off 1,v the cows, dears,
And her hair not the least bit curled:
Yet lbr old sakes' sake she is still, dears,
The 1)rettie.t doll in the world.
THE TWO MICE 57
THE FIELD MOUSE AND THE TOWN
MOUSE
Field 3louse
had a friend
who lived
ill a house
in tile town.
N o w t h c
Town Mouse
was sked by
tile Field Mouse to dine with him.
o one morning he went out to tile
country to visi his friend. A
noon they sa down to a meal of
dry corn and wheat. It was the
best food that the Fiehl Mouse
could get.
(2 FIRST READER
little worm! Ad htw much evil
lilly R lnal lt, when he does a
small Wl'Olig, aS lie did who put
the wormy timider ito the ship.
AIA('E
l)axt'lX; on the hilltq.,
Singing in the valleys,
Laughing with the ethanes,
MeVl'V little Alice.
flaying games with lambkins
In the fl.wering valleys,
Gat bering pretty losies,
HellffU] little Alice.
If her father's cottage
Turned into a palace,
And lie owned the hilltops
Alld the flwering valleys,
She'd le none the haplfier ,
Happy little Alice.
THE FOX AND THE HEN 63
THE FOX AND THE HEN
A HUNGRY fOX WaS Ollt' ,lay h,okiug
for a l}oultry-yard. As he was
passiug a farmhuse, he saw hen
aud some chickens which had g(ue
up iuto a tree fir the uighl, lie
drew near and iuvited them to
come dowu aud rejoice with him
on account of a new trcaty of 1)cacc
which ha! been formed amoug the
animals.
64 FIRST READER
The heu said she was glad of it,
but that .he did ot intend to
conic down lefi>re the ext norn-
ino. "But, said she, "I see tw,>
dogs coming: I have no doubt
they xvill 1,e 2lad to cele >ate the
peace with y).'"
,hst the the fix renenbered
that he had lusines elsewhere,
ad, lidding the hen
le'a [o run.
"Whv do you run?" said the
hen. "If the animals have made
leacc, the dgs will nt hurt you.
I know thel" they are g'd, loyal
dogs, anal would not harm any
OIIC.
"Ah," said the fox, "I fear they
have not vet heard the s.
THE SPIDER AND THE FLY 65
THE SPIDER ANI) THE FLY
"WI.L wm walk into my lmrl[ml'?"
Said the Slfider t, the Fly;
"'Tis lhe lwetlic,st little lmrhmr
That ever you did spy.
"The way int[ my lurlour
Is Ul a winding stair,
And I have many em'ims lhin,,'s
T shrew when .you arc I1 re.
")h m). m." said the lillh' Fly,
"T[ ask me is in vain;
Fw who goes Ul your winkling stair
Cllll llO'ffl" ClllO dWll agflill. '
" Fill .llre V[)ll lllll.%t le welll'V, dear,
With ,oaring Ul s) high ;
Will you rest u].m my little led ? "
Said the Spider t the Fly.
"There are prelty curtains drawll around;
The sheets arc film and thin,
And if you like t[) rest awhile,
I'll snugly tuck you in!"
WOI'(|,
Then
THE HONEST "WOODMAN 7
about her. and he did.
he caught her and"
--dragged her UlJ hi. winding .tair.
Into li. dismal den.
Within his littl l,arbmr
But she ne'er eamc mt aain.
MARY Howxx
( Adapted
A W{OI) MAN, who
was cuttiug wod on
the banks of ,-t river,
fall into
He at
to l,ray
and
let his axe
the water.
once began
to the gods t) find
it for him.
Mercury appeared
asked
him what vas the
matter.
FIRST READER
])mfess,r Wind l,lavcd J,,uder;
They flew ahm 7 the gnmnd.
Aud then the larty cnd.d
hands a(.nss, all round.
(; EORG E ('[toPER
TH E I)P, AWIN(;
A F'.tM(,rs Italian lainter had told
his 1,upils o ask the name f any
person who migh come 1o his
house dtring his absence
oily. hm day three p_.'entlemen
"Chen'ies are ripe! and so t(lay
We'll gather them while wm make the hay;
Fn' we are the boys with n crn t hoe,
No cows to milk, and n grass t mw."
At night the tiu'mer said : " Ilere's a trick
These roguish rolfins have had their lncl,.
F. E. VEATHERLEY
THE F(}I'R PEACHEg
ONCr: upon a time Ibm" lrothers
lived together. They were rich
and halqy. But (me day a great
storm swelt over the laM, and
very wise
went to
their hard
them and
wonderful
their barns mM houses were
down, an(l their cattle killed.
Now, i that land, there lived a
nmn, and the lrothers
him and told him of
luck. He had pity on
gave each of them a
peach.
(;RAY AND WHITE
" Don't tell me about it," tile ralbit said.-
She shut u 1) her eyes and her ears gjvw
red ;--
"There's lots of mud and it's sure to stick,
Because my hair is so hmg and thick."
" Oh dear[ )h dear!" s)l)l)cd the l,))r little
mole,
"Who will hel l) tile fairy out t' lhc h)le? "'
A c)mmon gray ral)lfit 1))l)l)ed Ul fl'()m the
gorse,
" l'lll not very str)ng, lint I'll try, )f cmrse."
His little tail 1,ol,bed as he waded in,
The muddy water came up to his chin,
But he caught the fairy tight by the hand
Mid sent her off safe into Fairy-land.
But she kissed him fir.t )n his nluddv nose,
She kissed his face, and his little wet toes,
And when the day dawned, in lhc early light
That little gray rabbit was shining white.
HON,V thv father and thv mother, that thy
(I[Ivs IllaV 1,e h,ll, ill the land.
78 FIRST READER
AHMET, THE SYRIAN
AtlMI.:T is a little
Syrian boy. tie
lives with his
thther and mother
in the old land of
Palestine, which
you have read of
in the Bible.
llis country is
not like yours. Iu the warm sea-
sou there is no mill fi)r months.
Then the green fields turu hard
and lr,wn, the rivers and streams
dry ul). and the leaves ,lr,, 1, ,,ff the
trees.
Ahmct's fkther takes great care
of his well iu this dry weather. It
is dug outside his house; and he
AHMET, THE SYRIAN BOY 7.
puts a great flat stone n tl of it.
This is to keel cattle f'ron, drinking
out of" it.
Ilis ho,se is ,1 like
either. It is luilt f nud ,r sterne,
and is luitc lw. The roof is nade
or' beams o[' wd, and is cocred
with a thick layer of earth. In the
Sl)l'ing a crop o[" rich grass springs
up on these mud ros, and the
goats find [heir way Ul and eat it.
In the cx'ening's, Ahmet's thther
and mother sit on the rod; and
enjoy the cod 1)reeze a['ter the
long, hot days.
The house is only one large
room. One part is raised like a
platform, with steps up to it, and
Ahmet lives there. His father
AHMET, THE SYRIAN BOY
You would no like. Ahme's bed,
I think. I is a mttl'eSs
with wool ,l' rags a,l covel'el
with some thick quilts. Ilis pillows
are made of straw. These are all
rolled np in a bundle and l,ut away
in the day time. At iffht they
are spread on the tic}or, and Ahnet
sleeps there as well as you
VOIlI" OWII COZV ]}ells.
The tbol he lives on is not, like
yours eilher, lie eats a great deal
of rice, besides lates, grapes, figs
and olives, }}u n}t much neat.
tie has no set time for 1}reakthst.
and dimmer as you have. lie takes
a hanlfid of gral}eS or dales when-
ever he is hungry. But each
evening at snnset, when the work
6
84 FIRST READER
Three little lmgs in It lulsket,
And the leds 1,ul: two would ]l,hl :
S, they all three fell to quarrelling,
The white and the llaek and gld ;
And two of the lmgs gt under the rugs,
And me was mt in the cold I
S lie that was left in the l,asket.
With, mr a ermnl t chew,
lh'a thread to wrap himself withal,
llqlell the wind acv,ss hint 1,1ew,
Pulled one ,,f the rugs fl,m ,,he ,f the
And so the lnarrel grew [
And s there was war in the basket,
Ah, pity 'tis, 'tis true!
But he that was fl'ozen and starved at
last
A strength flmt his weakness drew.
And pulled the rugs ti'm 1,oth of the
bugs,
And killed and ate them
THE FROC. PRINCE 87
"Oh, ' "
)es, said she, " I promise
all you ask, only bring" back my
ball."
No sooner had the fl'og brought
back the ball than the princess
picked it up and ran away with it
o the palace, leaving the flog
behind.
Next day, as the king and his
thmily sat at dinner, a knock was
heard at the door and a voice said"
" Princess, youngest princess!
O1)en the do,r for llle!
Do VO[I kllOW what I,ctbll
Yesterday I,y the side of the well?"
The princess told her thther who
it was and what she had promised.
Then said the king" " Yo must do
what you said you would. Go and
q,q FIRST READER
let him in." She did so and the
fi'og h()l)l)e(1 alog t the table.
" Lift me Ul," said the fi'og,
"a,l put ne on the talkie.'" But
he would ot, until her thther bade
her d, it. " Now, lh your little
golden plate )ea'er t,) me that we
may eat together."
When she refuse(l, l)ecause she
was aft'aid of the fi'og, her lhther
said" '" You ought not t() feel
t()ward one who helped you when
v()u we)'(, in ()'()t)l)le. What you
have l))'()mised you nust d()."
() she )n()ve(l her li((le gohlen
l)late )earer (() him, and they ate
ttethe. When ,_he had done her
dinner she beg'an (o fee] less afi'ai(l
of (he fi'og, and in the afternoon
she playe(l with
THE FROG PRIN('E
Next mornin, the strangest thing
had happened. The fl'og was no-
where to be seen, but at the top
of the stairs she tbund, waiting
her, a charming young ll'im'c. IIe
tohl her h)w he had been changed
into a fl'og l,y a wicked thiry and
shut up in the well, and that no
one 1)ut the most 1)cautiful princess
who wouhl lnakc a fl'icnd of him
could change him back a'ain.
( Adap@ )
TUE vulture cat.,s Ietwecn his mculs,
And that's the reason why
He very, ve T rarely lcls
As well as you or I.
His eye is dull, his head is lahl.
His neck is growing thinner.
Oh, what a lesson fi,r us all,
T[ only eat at dinner
9(} FIRST READER
TIlE BIRI)S NEST
'" "I',WlIIT ! to-whiL ! t-whce !
Will vm listen t, hie ?
Wh st,le lnn" e,,',,'s I laid,
And the nice nest l made ?"
" Not |," said the c,w, '" Mt..!
Such a thing I'd ever d.
[ gave ym a wisp of hay,
But didn't take vtlll" lleSt awav.
N.t I," said the cow, " 3[o.,!
Such a thing l'd never (hL"
" To-whit ! to-whit ! to-whee !
Will you listen to me ?
W]. stole Ibm" egs [ laid,
And the nice nest I made ?"
" Not I," said the dog, "Bow-w[w
I wouldn't Ire so mean, anyhow !
1 gave the hairs/lie nest to make,
But the nest I did not take.
Not I," said the dog, "Bow-wow !
l'lll llOt SO lllelLll, allvhow.
WHO STOLE TIIE BIRD'S NEST
"To-whir! to-whir! t)-whce!
Will )'l)[! listen to
Who sh)lc li)m" ,,,s I laid,
And lhe ni(.c nest I mndc? "
" Not l,"
[ wuldn't trent l)))r l)h'd s).
[ gave w)l lhc nest to line,
But the nest was m)nc f mine.
Baa I Baa
I wouldn't treat r l)r },ird s.'"
"Caw [ ('aw [ " cried the crow ;
" I shouhl like to kmw
What thief took nwav
A 1,ird's nest
" I would not rol a bird,"
Said little Mary Green;
" I lhink I never heard
Of anylhing so mean."
"It is very cruel, t)o,"
Said little Alice Neal;
" [ wonder if he knew
How sad the bird wouhl lel '?"
9:2 FI R.T READER
A little 1,v hun dwn his head, .
And wen and hid 1,ehind the led,
F,,r he stole that pretty nest
Fv m 1 oor little yellow-1 ,reast ;
And he llt so fifll f shame,
lie didn't like t tell his name.
IN TEA LA.ND
LXST year Mary and I went across
the se to a laml where teu grows.
We travelled every day for weeks
to get to that land. When we
arrived we went to the home of
Matsu, the little girl who appears
in the centre of this picture.
Matsu has a yellow skin and her
eyes are not straight across as ours
are. They slant upwards a little.
She did not shake hands with
us when we met but 1)owed her
head to the ground and spread her
arms out wide. That is the way
they greet a stranger in Japan.
Matsu 1)rought us to her home
but, before going into the house,
she took off her little wooden
boots and put on straw sandals.
The walls of the house were made
of paper, and the posts of bamboo.
As there were no chairs we sat
upon rugs and cushions on the
floor.
94 FIRST READER
A dinner each person had a
little table fiw himselt: We were
served with cakes, some fish, and
1,wls of rice. We tried to ea
rice with two chopsticks. I was
like trying to liR peas with two
lead-pencils. Tea was served in
dainty little cups without sugar or
vream. After dinner the tables
were taken away, and we were tohl
many stories about Japan.
A lcd-time walls were drawn
}ut t} make rooms fr us. Thick
luilts were l}la.ed upon the floors
for I}eds. The pillows were of
wood c{}vered with laper. In the
morning the walls were drawn back
and the house made into one big
rOOlll.
IN TEA LAND
After lreakfast we were taken
tbr a drive in a cart with two
wheels. These light carts are
drawn by men who run almost as
fast as a hol'e trots. We went out
to the fields where tea is grown.
Tea plants are Ibm" ,r five tl, et
high. They are set out in rows
across the fields. We saw many
girls l>icking the hright green
leaves, one by one. They carry
these home in baskets on their
heads. The tea leaves are spread
out in the sun to dry, and are then
lint into boxes and sent on to the
factory. There the leaves are l>ut
into iron bowls, set in large vens,
and stirred and rubbed until they
are fully dried. It is thus that tea
is made ready for use in our homes.
SPRING- WAKIN 97
"But I sit)', 3h'. Sun, .ll'd the Rol,ins here ? "
"Maybe," said the Sun. "Mavle ";
"There wasn't a lil'd when you called last
Vfll'."
"COllie Ollt.," said the tlll, "and see["
The Snowdrop sighed, fi>r she liked hel"
And there wasn't a 1,ird in sigsht,
But she lOlqed out of bed in hea' white
night-ca 1 ;
"That's rizht." said the Sun. "That's
right ! "
And, sm a. that small night-cap was seen,
A Robin 1,egan to sing,
The air grew warm, and the grass turned
green.
" 'Tis spring! " laughed the SUl, " 'Tis
slWilg ! ,,
ISABEL ECCLESTONE .,[A('KAY
Do all the god you can,
In all the wav.s you can,
To all the people you can,
Just as hmg as you can.
98 FIRST READER
TIlE PIED PIPER
years ago the little town of
llamelil was overrun with rats---
big, fierce rats.
They fou,g'ht the dogs and killed the eats
Aml I)it the Ialies in the cradles
And ate the cheeses ut ot" the vats
And made nests inside men's Sunday hats.
Every one tried to think of
s.omc plan hy which the rats could
THE PIED PIPER 99
be driven out. When many plans
had failed, the people came to the
town-hall to tell the Mayor that he
must do something.
The Mayor said he would give
anythilg he had to the man who
would rid the /own of these rats.
As he was speaking a knock was
heard at the door.
" Bless us ! " cried the Mayor. "What's
that ".
Anything like the sound 1" a
Makes lily heart go lfitalat ''
The door opened and in came a
man whom no one there had ever
seen before. He wore a long coat,
half of yellow and half of red, and
carried a pipe or flute.
"Who are you ?" said the Mayor.
THE PIED PIPER 101
When the Piper came back for
his fee the 3layor gave him only
fifty pieces.
"Give me the money )'Ol| 1,rom-
ised or you will be sorry," said the
Piper.
" The rats are all dead." said the
Mayor.
Then the Piper went out int,
the street and began t play a
sweeter tune than befbre.
Out ealne the children l'unnillg :
All the little lovs and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen earls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like l,earls.
The Piper went down the street.
and out into the field. The chil-
dren ran after him skipping and
singing. When they came to the
FIRST READER
Balw Swalhw lightly
Spreads out 1.,th his wings,
,lweads them quite mt in the ind.
And then fbrward .lwing's.
surlwi.e [--he's flying [
Nthing more he fears;
If, rand al,mt the church he goes.
And h,w well he steers!
M,ther-Bird leside him.
Singing full and str, mg,
To the G,d wh eur|'ied him.
All her
From the French ,,f RAMBERT
TII vem",s at the
The dav',s at the lnon:
Morning".s at seven ;
The hillside's dew pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the tho ;
Gd's in His heaven--
All's fight with the world
]ROWNING
OOGLY, THE LITTLE ESKIMO 105
.- @
OOGLY, THE LITTLE ESKIMO
OOGLY is a little Eskilno boy, wh<)
lives in the cold north land. Ill
that land there is little but ice and
snow. In stmmler the days are
very long that there is hardly any
night. In winter the nights arc
long that little Oogly seldom sees
the suit shining.
There are no trees in this cold
land, but there is a kind of hard,
OOI.Y THE LIX'I'LE E.KI.MO
light and this is covered wilh a lhi
piece of skin.
Oogly does not wash and dres
and eat a you ,lo. tie never
washes in water, but rubs his ihce
with oil. This he]l)s to keel) ]fin)
wrIII.
Then he mut wear warm clothes;
u) he puts on two Ihr suits. The
inside one has the fin' next his
l)ody; the .other one has the fin'
outs'de. These suits are made
seal-skh or bear-kiu, a(l so are his
boots. Ills stockings are made
the soft down of birds which his
ihther kills, lie takes off his outer
suit when he goes into the house,
ibr it is always warm there.
When he dines, he sits on a long
| 0 FIRST READER
l>ench made of ice and covered
with furs-and at night he sleeps
there, t<m. IIe eats the meat and
tht of the walrus and lhe lcars and
seals his thther kills. When he is
thirsty he drinks the oil that comes
fi'om them. Sometimes his mother
cow,ks soup, }t very often he eats
meat in long, thin, raw strips,
which would not look nice to you
even if you were very hungry.
tie has no candy like you have.
His father kills the birds that come
there in summer and his mother fills
the lmnes of their t,et, and legs
with tht. I hese filled bones are
the only candies Oogly has.
He never saw a horse or cow,
only seals, bears, and the dogs
OOGLY THE LITTLE ESKIMO lO
which draw his sled. The sled is
made of bones, tied with strips of
skin. It is drawn by four or six
dogs. O.ogly cracks his whip and
shouts to the first dog'; the other
dogs follow their leader, ad away
they go at a great pace ,vcr/he ice
and snow.
In summer Oogly's Ihther spears
seals through a hole in the ice.
Then everybody has to help to
dress the skins and beat them soft,
so that they can be made into shoes
and clothes. The knife Oogly's
fther uses to skin the seal with, is
made of bone. So is the needle
his mother sews the skins with.
Her thread is made of thin strips
of skin.
Slm" it started;
S.m it, darted,
('1 and clear m,1 free,
Ri I q ding wer 1 el d des,
flurrying to the sea.
('hihh'en straying
('alne a-ldaying
)n its pretty lmnks;
Glad. mr little ]mklet
Sparkled u 1) its thanks.
Bh iSSOll is fll Rlt ing
Mimic 1.ating,
Fishes darting fast,
Swift. and strmg and haply ,
Widening Vel'V filst.
Bullding, singing,
Rushing, ringing,
Flecked with shade and sun,
Son our little lmklet
To the sea has rim.
112 FIRST READER
FILLING A BASKET WITH WATER
IN the fhr-away land of Persia
there once lived a king who did
not like doing things just as every-
body else did. He always tried to
find other ways of' getting what he
wanted done.
Once lie wished to find a man
who would do .just what he was
told,--and this is the story of how
he found him.
FILLING A BASKET WITH WATER 113
He made it known that he
wanted men to do some work, and
chose two out of more than a
hundred who came to him.
Hc took them to his garden and
gave them a large basket, telling
them to fill it with water froln the
well. Then he left them, saying
that he should come back at sunset
to see their work, and if they had
done it well they should be paid.
The men began pouring water
into the basket without thinking
much about what they were doing.
But at last one said to the other:
"We are very foolish to go on with
this work, for we can never fill the
basket. The water runs out as fast
as we can pour it in."
8
114 FIRST READER
But lIassan, the other man, said"
"That does not natter to us; the
king nust know why he wanls us
o till this basket wilh water.
Besides lhal, we shall le well paid
if w do it 1o please him- and what
more do vo want?"
"Very well, you do as you like,
but I shall not 'o ,,n with such a
silly lfiece f work." As he said
this, the first nan threw away his
pail, and went off.
lIassa did ot say anything in
relly, lint kept on working the
whole day. When sunset came he
was tired and stiff', but the well was
very early empty.
tie was just pouring out the last
pailthl, when he spied something
FIIJLI_N'G- A BASKET WITH WATER ] 15
very }wight which had thllen into
the basket. When he looked
again, he saw it was a fine gold
ring. It had been lying at the
bottom f' the well. ad he had
brought it up in lis last, lmil of
water.
"Now," he said, ' I see why the
king wanted us to pour the water
into the basket. If I had just
poured it OtlL on the ground the
ring might never have been fbund."
When the king saw the ring" he
was very glad, for he knew that
this was just the kind of' man he
was looking fbr. He told IIassan,
firs of" all, tha he might keep the
ring fbr himself'. "And," he said,
"you have done his Olle Slllall
FIRST READER
The little 1)ors on lhc
thns are lla(.k, with w(.llv heads,
]right eyes al sch white t(,eth.
As i is so hot
.:..;- ,,., an! their
""" milk is got
lhc c((:oa-l. Their 'ul)s are made
coo(m-nuts (.tt in two.
th'v wear
ly any vhthcs.
We eat bread
ad drik milk
So ,1,, they,
their Iread is
nalc ,f I)anan-
llerc is a 1)anma tree. See its
lmg trunk with nnvs t' lig, broad
leaves like a (.town m'omd its top.
IN BANANA LAND
Each leaf is so large that, if ldaccd
on the ground, a nml cal lie at fitll
length Ul)(} it. The w}rkcrs i the
l)amma fields luild the walls
rooI 1' their" huts o1' thee leaves
and the wmcu weave nmts and
rug's out of them.
Look under the leaves n this
tree. Here are the bananas. They
grow in circles round a tem and
curve upwards towards the sun.
At first each little banana is covered
with a brown huk. After a time
this husk dries Ul ad Ihlls
Then, under the hade of the big"
leaves, the lanana grow in the hot
moist weather till they become ripe.
In a little less than a yenr the
banana plant grows into a tree,
120 FIRST READER
bears its big cluster of fl'uit and is
then cut dwn. In its place is set
mt another plant to bear its crop
next year.
II, ])almlm land the children have
never seen an apple tree. It is as
strange to them as a balmUa tree is
to Vu. When you drive on our
roads yoli see, on either side, fields
of" wheat alld oats alld clover;
orchards of apples, plums and pears.
In lanana land you drive between
fields of cot/ira and sugar-calm and
tolmcco; orchards of figs aud oranges
and lfine-al)ples.
If your drive is taken at the right
season you may see the negroes
digging up the roots of the ginger
l)lant. These roots when scalded
and cleaned are ground into a pow-
der which we know as ,,-in,,-ov The
tender roots [f the' young llants
are often put into jars and covered
with syl'Ul). This is our preserved
ginger.
('RADI.E S(
SIn-T, little slcelY blue eyes;
Dear little head, be at rest;
Jesus, like ym,
Was a l al v mee, too,
And lept m his mvn mother's
1 weast.
Sleep, little baby of urine,
,Ro|'t Oll VOlll" lfillw so white;
Jesus is here
To wateh over you, deal',
And nothing can harnl you to-night.
122 FaST READER
EVENING HYMN
Tin: hours of day arc wer,
The evening calls us home;
(}liCe lllll' [I) Thee, 0 Father.
With thankfltl hearts we come.
F()r life and health, an(1 shelter
Fl'mn harm throughout the day,
The kindness of our teachers,
The gladness of our l)lay ;
For all the dear afliection
(If larents, brothers, friends,
To llinl ,ur th:lnks we render
Wllo these and all things sends.
Lord, gather all Thy children
To meet in Heaven at last,
When earthly tasks are ended,
And eartlllv days are last.
