1.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，little girl，little boy？
“Oh，the world‘s running over with joy！Don’t you hear？don‘t you see？Hush！look！In my treeI’m as happy as happy can be！”
2.And the brown thrush keeps singing，“A nest，do you see，And five eggs，hid by me in the old elm 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.”
3.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‘re as good as can be！”
1.Name the verbs in verse 3.
2.Write the last six adjectives in the lesson.
A RAILWAY TRAIN
1.All boys like to see a railway train.How strong and heavy the engine looks！And yet the engine-driver can make it go fast or slow，or stop it altogether，just as he wishes.
2.There are always two men on the engine.One of them is called the driver.When he wants the train to start，he moves a little handle.This opens the way for the steam，which forces thewheels round.When the driver shuts off steam the train stops.
3.The other man is called the stoker.He has to look after the fires，so that the water in the boiler may be always kept boiling.For it is the steam from the boiling water that makes the engine go.
4.In every train there is a guard，who has a carriage for himself，called the guard’s van.When the train stops at a station，he has to seethat the passengersget their luggage who are leaving the train out of the van.Then the luggage of new passengers is put in.
5.When all the passengers are seated and the carriage doors shut，the guard signal.tothe driver with a green flag or，if it is night，with a green lantern.Then as the train moves off he jumps into his van again，and begins to get ready the trunks and parcels for the next station.
6.Have you ever noticed how straight and smooth the rails are on which the train runs？
They are made of steel，and are very strong.They must be firmly fixed in their places，and at the right distance apart for the wheels of the engine and the carriages.
7.There are men always at work on the railway line keeping it in good order.If anything goes wrong with the rails，a train may be thrown off the line.When this happens，the carriages are often broken in pieces and many passengers killed.
8.The men who manage the train must know their work very well，and they must alsobe soberand steady，for we trust our lives to their keeping when we travel by train.They must be brave men too，for they have often to face great danger.
9.How different it is now from the time when there were no trains！Long ago people travelled in coaches drawn by four horses，or they rode on horseback.Travelling took a much longer time then.
10.Goods also had to be carried by horses.Where there were roads，carts and waggons were used.Where there were no roads，the bundles were carried on the horses‘backs.
11.But trains carry our goods so quickly，and carry so much at a time，that we can now get the things we want from other places much moreeasily and cheaply than in the olden days .
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Write the first four nouns with verbs connected.
2.Give sentences with the words train，handle，and guardas nouns and as verbs.
SELFISH SAMBO
1.The apple tree could not think，but it seemed to know that Sambo，the black pony ，liked sweet apples.So it dropped a ripe one on the ground.
2.The tree stood in a sloping field of grass，so away went the apple rolling down the hill.Sambo was feeding quietly in the field；but when he saw the apple he galloped joyfully after it.Another pair of sharp eyes were fixed on the apple.
3.“I want that apple myself，”cried little Joe.He was sitting upon the gate，while grandpapa stood beside him with sister Belle on his shoulder.
4.“I think，Joe，that there are apples enough left for you.You can spare Sambo that one，”said grandpapa.
5.By this time Sambo had chased the apple to the foot of the little hill.It stopped near the wall，and the pony ate it up in one bite “There！I’ve lost my apple，”said Joe.
6.Just then Molly，the old cow，strolled up to the apple tree.She knew as well as Sambo where the sweet apples came from.She stretched up her neck to get at the fruit，but she could not quite reach it.
7.Sambo saw her，and was very angry at her for trying to get any of his apples.He set out at aquick gallop for pool Molly.He flung his heels in the air，and frightened the timid cow away.
8.Then Sambo smelt on the ground for apples，but he found none.“Serves you right，you greedy，selfish old thing！”cried Belle.“You don‘t deserve to get any apples if you can’t spare one for Molly.”
9.Grandpapa looked at Joe with a queer smile.Perhaps he was thinking that a greedy boy might deserve as few apples as a greedy pony.
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Point out the last ten verbs in the lesson.
2.Make sentences with these verbs as predicate.
A YOUNG HERO
1.Some years ago there was a great fire that burned down a large part of the city ofChicago.Hundreds of homes were swept away.Many strange things happened while the flames were raging .
2.A rich lady was hurrying through the crowd of people，trying to save from the fire some ofthe things she valuedmost.
3.She saw a little boy，and called him to her，saying，“Take this box，my boy，and do not part with it for one moment until I see you again.
Stay here till I come back，and I will rewardyou well.”
4.The boy took the box，and the lady turned back to try to save some more of her goods.Just then the crowd came rushing between the lady and the boy，and they lost sight of each other.
5.The lady took refugefor that night with friends who lived outside the city.Next day she tried to find the boy，but she could hear nothing either of him or of the box.
6.There were some very important papers inthe box，as well as all her diamonds and othe.jewels，and the lady was in great distres.atlosing them.
7.But on the following night a watch-man found the boy lying beside the box near the place where the lady had left him，and almost buried in the sand and ashes that had fallen about him.
8.The poor boy had been there through the long hours without food or shelter.He was almost dead with fear and hunger，but he had never once though of leaving the box that had been trusted to his care.
9.Of course he was well repaid by the lady；but the boy who could be so faithful does not do his duty for the sake of reward.The lady trusted him，and he would have died at hispostrather than seem to be unworthyof her trust.This is the spirit which turns boys and men into heroes.
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Point out the first six verbs with nouns connected.
2.Make sentences containing these words as nouns and as adjectives-sand，paper，diamond.
THE SNOW-FLAKE‘S SONG
1.Here I come！here I come！Fun and sport I’m bringing，And I hear from far and nearJoyouswelcome ringing.
3.Let the merry sport begin，Shouting，sliding，singing！Gaily up and down the hill Send your glad notes ringing.
Here I come！here I come！ All my army leading， To your welcome warm Gaily，gladly speeding.
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Write the nouns in verses 1and 2.
2.Point out the verbs，nouns，and adjectives in the lesson which end in -ing.
A WALRUS HUNT
1.“Uncle George，you promised to tell us how it was that you nearly lost your life on your lastvoyage.You said you were hunting at the time.”
2.Captain Hill had been away in a ship trying to find out all about the seas and islands which lie to the north of America.
3.“All right，boys，”said he.“Come to anchoron the arms of my chair.Now for your story.
4.”Of course you know that the far North is a region of snow and ice.Our ship was quite frozen up in the ice all through the winter.For four months the sun was never seen，even at mid-day.
5.“One morning，when the ice was beginning to melt，we had a walrus hunt.Do you know what a walrus is？It is a huge animal，somewhat like a seal in shape，but much larger.
6.”Its skin is nearly as hard as iron，and it haslarge tuskswhich can break through the side of a boat very easily.So you see the walrus is rather a dangerous fellow to meddle with.
7.“Well，a herd of walruses came into the open water near the ship that morning.We at once got ready for the hunt.We put some rifles，and a harpoonwith a long rope，into one of the boats，and dragged it across the ice to the open water.
8.”As we came near the walruses，they lookedso fierce that we would have been glad to go back，but we were ashamed to do so.They were not afraid of us at all，and we began to be afraid of them.
9.“One of our men stood in the bow of the boat with the harpoon in his hand.Three of us had rifles，and we all fired at the same time.
10.”Down he dived，and the whole herd followed him.The rope tied to the harpoon ran out at a fearful rate，but at last it stopped.
11.“Then up they all came again，and rushed towards the boat with their ugly heads just above the water.
12.”We had a hard fight of it.Many a shot we fired，but our bullets did not seem to hurt them.Had it not been for the oars，with which the sailors pushed them off，they would have crushed the boat to pieces.
13.“At last they all seemed to take fright，and dived down together with a great splash.The old fellow was still fast to the rope，and we soon killed him.The others all got away.”
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Point out the proper nouns in the lesson.
2.Make sentences with these words as nouns and as verbs-anchor，hunt，water.
CAMPING OUT
1.Bob and Dick were two little boys who lived in a big city in America.Summer had come，and they went to their grandmamma‘s farm in the country to spend their long holiday.
2.They had been reading a stor y about travellers who lived in tents，and they thought Tent，a small hut made by fixing canvas on poles.that they would like nothing better than to camp out somewhere，and live in a tent.
3.The very first day of their visit they began to tease grandmamma about sleeping in a tent.The weather was so fine and warm that she thought it would do them no harm.
4.So she gave them two large sheets to make into a tent.She helped the boys to fix them together，and fasten them to the low branch of an apple tree in a small field near the house.They thought it a splendid tent.
5.Night came，and the boys lay down in their tent.It was very dark，and the house seemed very far away.It was so still that even the rustling of the leaves seemed quite a loud sound.But the boys were very tired，and at last they fell sound asleep.
6.In the middle of the night Bob awoke，and heard the sound of some animal’s footsteps near the tent.What could it be？Was it a bear？Bob had heard that bears were fond of fruit，and perhaps this bear had come for some apples off the tree.
7.He wakened Dick，and they sat up to listen.Nearer and nearer came the trampling；then they heard the crunching of an apple being eaten.The boys clung to each other in terror .
8.“Let‘s run to the house！”whispered Bob.
“Oh，he’ll catch us！I know he can run fasterthan we can，”said Dick，his teeth chatteringwith fright.
9.“Wait till he goes round to the other side of the tent，”said Bob，“Now then，come along！”And the two boys crawled out of the tent and rushed towards the house.
10.Before they had got half-way across the field，a strange sound made them stop and look behind，and then they saw in the dim light a big black animal galloping after them.They heard his loud breathing as he raced along.
11.Off the boys ran again，faster than before.Their screams reached the house before they did，and grandpapa came running out to see what was wrong.The boys rushed to him for safety.
12.Just at that moment their bear went rushing past also.But he did not stop until he reached the door of his own den.The bear was Black Jerry，the pig，who was as fond of apples as if he had been a real bear.
13.The boys got no more frights about bears，but they had had enough of sleeping in a tent.For the rest of their holidays they slept in thesnug little room which had been preparedthem at first.
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Write down any four verbs in lesson with nouns connected.
2.Give sentences with country ，apple ，and middle asnouns and as adjectives.
FILLING A BASKET WITH WATER
1.An Eastern king was once in need of a faithful servant.He gave notice that he wanted a man to do a day‘s work，and two men cameand asked to be employed .
2.He engaged them both，and set them to work to fill a basket with water from a well，saying that he would come in the evening and see their work.He then left them to themselves and went away.
3.After pouring in one or two bucketfuls，one of the men said，-“What is the good of doing this useless work？
As soon as we put the water into the basket it runs out again.”
4.The other man answered，“It is no business of ours whether the work is useful or not.We promised to do it，and we are to be paid for doing it.”
5.“I am not going to do such foolish work，”replied the first speaker，and throwing down his bucket，he went away.
6.The other man continued his work till about sunset，when he had nearly emptied the well.Looking into the basket，he saw something shining.It was a ring of great value，which his bucket had drawn up from the muddy bottom of the well.
7.“Now I see the use of pouring the water into a basket，”he said to himself.“Had it been poured on the ground perhaps this ring would not have been seen for the mud.”
8.At this moment the king came up followed by his servants.As soon as he saw the ring，heknew that the man had been doing exactl.ashe had ordered，although the work had seemed useless.
9.The king knew that at last he had found a servant whom he could trust.He told the man to keep the ring for himself，saying，-“You have been faithful in a little thing；nowI see I can trust you in great things.From thistime you shall be the chiefof my servants.”
1.Give the plurals of speaker，day，man，ring.
TIME ENOUGH
1.Two little squirrels，out in the sun；
One gathered nuts，the other had none：
“Time enough yet，”was his constant refrain ，“Summer is still only just on the wane .”
2.Listen，my child，while I tell you his fate.
He roused him at last，but he roused him too late；Down fell the snow in a pitiless cloud，And the starved little squirrel was wrapped in itsshroud.
3.Two little boys in a school-room were placed；One always working，the other disgraced：“Time enough yet for learning，”he said；“I will climb，by-and-by，from the foot to the head.”
4.Listen，dear children.Their locks are turned gray：One lives in wealth and in honour to-day；The other，a pauper，looks out at the doorOf the alms-house，and idles his days，as of yore.
5.Two kinds of people we meet every day；One is at work，the other at play，Living uncared for，dying unknown-.⑩The busiest hive hath ever a drone .
6.Tell me，my child，if the squirrels have taughtThe lesson I wish to remain in your thought；Answer me this，and my story is done，-Which of the two would you be，little one？
GRAMMAR EXERCISE
1.Write the nouns in verses 5and 6.
2.Point out the subject and the predicate in the first sentence of verse 2.