The Summers Readers: Second Reader

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Summers readers: second reader, by Maud Summers

Credits: hekula03 and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)

THE SUMMERS READERS

Thanks are due to the following publishers and authors for permission to reprint poems and to adapt stories on which they hold copyright:

“Singing”; “Autumn Fires” by Robert Louis Stevenson from “Poems and Ballads” (copyright 1895, 1896).

“Sir Robin” from “Childhood Songs” by Lucy Larcom; “A Flock of Doves” from “Poems for Children” by Celia Thaxter; “What the Winds Bring” by Edmund Clarence Stedman; “Hiawatha”; “The Children’s Hour”; “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; “The Miraculous Pitcher”; “The Pomegranate Seed” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

“Patty’s New Dress” from “More Mother Stories” by Maud Lindsay; “The Teeter” from “Rhymes for Little Fingers” by Maud Burnham.

“The Calico’s Story”; “The Nixie’s Strain” by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen.

The Indian house was a tent covered with skins or bark. These tents were called wigwams.

The Indians wore clothes made of deerskin. Often these were covered with pretty beads.

Indian boys played ball, and swam in the rivers. Sometimes they went into the woods to hunt with their bows and arrows.

Indian girls played with dolls made of deerskin. Sometimes they helped their mothers plant the corn or cook the food.

Often she hung the cradle on a branch of a tree. The wind rocked the little cradle.

Sometimes the Indian father wore feathers in his hair, and painted his face. This made him look very fierce.

One day some white people came over the sea in a ship. They were called Pilgrims.

They soon came to a pile of sand. They began to dig, and found a basket full of corn. It belonged to the Indians.

The Pilgrims did not know that the Indians could make such large, strong baskets. It took two men to lift the basket of corn from the ground.

The Pilgrims took some of the corn to plant in the spring. The next summer they paid the Indians for all they had taken.

A kind Indian taught them how to plant the corn. He also taught them how to cook it.

He could not rise from his bed of leaves, as he had not eaten anything for three days.

“I have come to tell you how you can help your people. Arise from your bed and wrestle with me.”

Hiawatha grew stronger and stronger as he wrestled with Mondamin. Three times Mondamin came and wrestled with Hiawatha.

Then Mondamin said, “The next time we wrestle you will win. Take off my green and yellow clothes. Make a bed for me to lie in where the sun may come and warm me.

“No one but you must watch beside me, until I come again with the sunshine.”

Hiawatha made the bed as Mondamin had told him, and then went home. Every day he watched the place where Mondamin was lying.

Before the summer was over, the corn with its soft yellow hair stood before him, tall and beautiful.

He called the Indians and showed them the corn. Then he said, “It is a gift for you, my people, and it will always be your food.”

“Grandma, Arabella wants a party, and there are no dolls to come to it,” said Ruth.

“Peter has been lying in my room a great many years,” said Grandma. “I think he would like to come to a party.”

“Your father played with Peter when he was a little boy,” said Grandma. “He liked Sally Squash, too. Shall we ask her to the party?”

Grandma cut a face in the small end, and put[17] a white paper dress on the squash. Then Sally was ready for the party.

“I should like to ask Patty Corncob,” said Grandma. “I played with her when I was a little girl.”

Grandma tied a head and arms made of paper on a corncob. Then she made a pink paper dress and cap.

“Oh, how pretty!” said Ruth as she looked at Patty Corncob. “I like her almost as well as Arabella.”

Grandma drew a face in the head of a clothespin, and put on a blue paper dress and hat.

“This is Betty Clothes-pin,” said Grandma. “She came to my parties long ago.”

They all sat down under a tree, and ate the cake that Dinah had baked for the party.

Arabella did not look like the other dolls. She had blue eyes and yellow hair, and wore a beautiful silk dress.

There was once a wicked miller who said to his king, “I have a beautiful daughter who can spin straw into gold.”

The king loved gold more than anything else, so he carried the miller’s daughter away to his castle.

He filled a large room with straw, and said to her, “If you do not spin this straw into gold before morning, you must die.”

The miller’s daughter sat down and began to cry. She did not know how to spin straw into gold.

Soon a brownie came in, and said, “What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold?”

When the king came in the next morning, he was very glad to see so much gold. But he wanted more.

Again the brownie came in, and said, “What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold?”

The king was so glad to see all the gold, that he filled a much larger room with straw.

“Now,” he said, “if you spin this straw into gold I will make you my queen.”

When the brownie came that night, the miller’s[22] daughter said, “I have nothing else to give you.”

“Will you give me your first little child, when you are queen?” said the brownie.

Once more the brownie sang. The wheel went round, and soon the room was filled with gold.

When she held her first little child in her arms, she was so happy that she did not think about the brownie.

Then the brownie said, “If in three days you can find out my name, I will not take away your child.”

III

The first day passed, and the second day passed, and she could not tell the brownie his name.

On the third day a man came to the queen and[23] said, “Last night as I was walking through the woods, I saw a brownie dancing around a bonfire and singing,

“An old fairy has told you! An old fairy has told you!” he cried. Then he ran away.

Hiawatha, the young Indian chief, lived in the woods, by the Big Sea Water. He wanted to make a canoe.

He said to the Birch-tree, “Take off your white cloak, for the summer is coming, and you will not need it.”

The Birch-tree waved its branches in the wind and said, “Take my cloak, O Hiawatha!”

Then he said to the Cedar, “Give me your branches, so my canoe will be strong.”

There was a cry from the top of the Cedar, but it said, “Take my branches, O Hiawatha!”

“Give me your roots, O Larch-tree,” Hiawatha said, “to hold the ends of my canoe together.”

Hiawatha pulled up the roots of the Larch-tree,[26] and sewed the bark together. Then he said to the Fir-tree, “Give me your balm, so that the water may not come into my canoe.”

So Hiawatha made his birch canoe. And it lay upon the water like a yellow leaf in autumn.

One summer Robert and his father and mother lived in a little house in the woods.

Robert put some nuts on the ground and hid behind a tree. Soon the squirrel came and carried them away.

The next day he put the nuts nearer the house. The squirrel came again and carried them away.

One day Robert’s mother sat down in a chair on the porch. She put some nuts on the floor and kept very still.

After a while Lady Gray came up on the porch. She looked at Robert’s mother, then she took a nut and ran away as fast as she could.

By and by Lady Gray became so gentle that she would hunt for nuts in their pockets.

One morning Father put a nut on his shoulder. Lady Gray jumped on Father’s shoulder and ate the nut. How they all laughed.

Robert’s father wanted the house to look pretty, so he painted it white and green.

In the morning Robert called out, “Mother! Mother! See what the squirrels have done!”

Lady Gray saw Robert and came up on the porch. A baby squirrel was with her. They named it Little Son.

Soon Little Son was as gentle as Lady Gray. Sometimes he would let them put their hands on his soft fur.

Robert’s father held him up so that he could put his hand in the hole. The squirrel’s nest was almost full of nuts.

There was once a kind old shoemaker who was very poor. He had leather to make only one pair of shoes.

He cut these out and went to bed. The next morning the shoes were standing ready upon the table.

He sold the shoes and bought leather to make four pairs. The work he cut out was always done in the morning.

One evening the shoemaker said to his wife, “I should like to sit up to-night and see who it is that makes the shoes.”

In the night two little elves ran in. They sewed and rapped and tapped so quickly that the shoes were made long before morning. Then the elves ran away.

The next day the shoemaker’s wife said, “These elves have made us rich. I should like to do something for them. You make each of them a little pair of shoes, and I will make them some clothes.”

On Christmas eve they put the shoes and the clothes on the table. Then they hid behind the door to see what the elves would do.

When the elves saw the clothes, they quickly put them on. They laughed and danced and jumped about.

At last they danced out of the door and across the grass and were seen no more. But the kind shoemaker and his wife lived a long and happy life.

Big Brother Ben, Sister Polly and little Martha sat talking together under the old oak-tree.

Brother Ben cut a round piece out of the stem-end of each pumpkin. The little girls then went to work to dig out the pumpkins.

After this Brother Ben cut eyes, nose, and mouth on the outside. The last thing was to make a little hole in which to set a candle.

When evening came Father and Brother Ben made a large bonfire near the corn-field.

They all sat around the bonfire and ate the good things which Mother and Sister Polly carried down in a basket.

Mother sat on a rug and watched them. After a while little Martha joined her and soon the rug held them all.

Mother told them about the brownies and elves who come out on Hallowe’en to help the farmer, and all the busy people who work for us.

Brother Ben gave the poem so well that they were all very still for a few moments.

As they turned away from the fire Polly said, “The Jack-o’-lanterns were fun, but I like the stories best of all.”

They were poor, but they were two of the kindest[36] old people that ever lived. Often they went without their supper to give it to some traveler.

Soon they saw two travelers coming up the hill. Some children ran after them, shouting and setting their dogs on them.

Philemon went to meet the travelers and said, “Welcome, strangers! Welcome!”

He asked them to come in to supper. Baucis gave the travelers bread and milk and honey.

“What good milk!” said one of them. “May I have a little more, kind Baucis?”

Baucis looked into the pitcher, and saw the[37] white milk running in from the side. Soon it was full.

“May I have some bread, Mother Baucis,” said the traveler, “and a little of that honey?”

Baucis cut him some and found that the bread was no longer old and hard as it was when she and Philemon ate of it.

“Your friends, my good Philemon. After this the pitcher will always be full of milk for you and Baucis, and for poor travelers.”

The next morning the travelers asked Philemon and Baucis to walk with them and show them the road.

When Philemon and Baucis turned to go back, the older traveler said, “Good Philemon and Baucis, you gave us not only milk and bread but also a kind welcome. Ask for anything you want, and you shall have it.”

Philemon and Baucis looked at each other and said, “Grant that we may die together.”

The old people fell on their knees to give thanks. When they looked up, the travelers were not there.

Philemon and Baucis lived in the castle a long, long time. One morning they could not be found.

The people looked everywhere for them. At last they saw two large trees standing in front of the castle.

One was an oak, the other was a linden-tree. The people wondered where they came from. Just then the wind began to blow, and the trees seemed to be talking.

Whenever a traveler rested under the trees, the leaves seemed to say, “Welcome, dear traveler! Welcome!”

“Let us have a day of thanksgiving for this great blessing,” said the Governor.

“The Indians have been kind to us. We will ask them to our feast,” said the Governor.

The Pilgrim fathers went hunting and fishing. They carried home duck, turkey, and fish.

The Pilgrim mothers made bread and cake from the corn. They baked plenty of pumpkin-pies.

What a good time the children had getting ready for the feast! They gathered the wild plums and grapes. They put pop-corn in the ashes of the wide fireplace. Then they watched until the “Snap! Crack! Snap!” was heard.

The Indians came, gaily dressed in skins, and paint, and feathers. They brought five large deer to the feast.

The Indians came in time for breakfast and stayed three whole days. So they must have had a good time. They played games, and danced, and sang.

Before the feast the Indians and the Pilgrims thanked God for His goodness to them.

A log fire was burning in the fireplace. On the walls hung strings of dried apples. Long, yellow squashes hung up above.

A little girl sat beside the spinning-wheel dressing corncob dolls. She was taking care of the baby that lay in the queer old cradle.

Mother put the pudding in the kettle that hung before the fire. Then she said, “Come, Patty! It is time to set the table.”

“What hard work that would make for Mother!” said Grandma, looking at the rows of pies.

What a good dinner it was! They all said that the turkey was the best they ever ate. And, oh, the pudding and the pies!

Grandma and Grandpa stood at one end. Father and little Patty stood at the other end. Then up and down the long kitchen they went, laughing all the time.

In the evening they sat around the log fire. They told stories, roasted apples, and ate the nuts the children had gathered.

At last they said good night. Then Uncle John put Aunt Mary and the children in the sleigh, and drove home through the softly falling snow.

He knew the songs of the birds. He liked to watch them make their nests and feed their young.

When he went into the woods, the squirrels played about him. They let him see where they hid their nuts.

He watched the bee gather honey from the flowers. He knew how it made its house.

Then he could see the clouds and hear the frogs. Sometimes the fireflies flew about looking like little lanterns.

In another poem called “Snow-Bound,” Whittier tells what he did in the winter.

With merry shouts they made a path to the barn. In one place the snow was so deep that they played it was a cave.

The old horse heard them and put his head out of the barn window to see the fun.

The dog lay asleep in the warm firelight. The cat opened and closed her yellow eyes as she sat beside him.

Then their father told them a story about the Indians. Mother talked of the days when she was a little girl.

The wind roared around the house. The snow fell through the roof upon their beds. But the children did not know it, for they were soon fast asleep.

“It is as soft as down, and as white as milk, and as beautiful as snow,” said Pattie.

Grandmother carded the wool fine and smooth. Then she fastened it on her spindle and sent the spinning-wheel whirling round.

“Zu-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!” sang the wheel, as it turned. “Zu-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!”

Pattie’s brother said it sounded as if there were bees in the room. “Zu-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!”

Pattie stood by to watch her spin. She asked more questions than Grandmother had time to answer.

“Will there be a pocket in my new dress,” she asked, “and buttons down the back?”

“I know,” said Brother Joe. He had just come in from the woods with some walnut bark.

Mother made a dye with the walnut bark. Sure enough, when she dipped the yarn into the dye it came out a beautiful brown just as Pattie had guessed.

The treadle went up and the treadle went down with a click and a clack. Such a merry sound!

When the cloth was woven Sister Rachel took[54] it out of the loom. Mother was all ready to begin the dress.

Long after Pattie was in bed and fast asleep that night, Mother was busy sewing.

Jack Frost had come in the night and the cold winds had begun to blow. But Pattie did not care.

The ground is covered with snow almost all the year, and the birds cannot get enough to eat.

They sit upon the porch, upon the roof of the house, and sometimes look in at the windows.

On Christmas morning, a tall pole with a bunch of grain on the top is set before every door.

Then such a twittering is heard from the birds, and such merry shouts from the children!

It would be hard to tell which has the better time, the birds or the happy children.

Fred and May lived one winter in a country where the sun was always bright and warm.

One day they saw a queer little girl watching them. She did not look like the little girls they played with at home.

She said that her name was Piccola. She told them that she was alone all day, because her mother went out to work.

“Yes,” said Piccola. “We go to church on Christmas Day, and hear beautiful singing.”

“Hang up your stocking on Christmas Eve,” said May. “He will come down the chimney and fill it with toys.”

“Do not look for him this year, little daughter,” said her mother. “I shall be thankful if we have enough to eat.”

On Christmas Eve Piccola did not have any stocking to hang up. So she put her little wooden shoe in front of the fireplace.

The next morning Piccola awoke before it was light. She ran softly to the fireplace to see what was in her shoe.

“Oh, Mother, Mother!” cried the happy little girl. “See what Santa Claus has given me!”

She ran to her mother with the shoe in her hand.[61] A little bird had come down the chimney. There it lay in the shoe, looking up at her with its two bright eyes.

Piccola fed it and warmed it. Then she carried it into the garden to show it to Fred and May.

They gave her candy, and toys, and a doll. But Piccola liked the gift of Santa Claus best of all.

She wore a dress of gold. Whenever she came out from her castle everything became light.

She had many children whom she loved very dearly, and they also wore dresses of gold.

Their good servant, the Moon, who followed after them, wore a dress of shining silver.

She was alone and unhappy and often wished that she had children like those of Queen Sunshine.

One day when Queen Sunshine’s children were playing on the seashore, a little boy fell into the water.

By and by, when the Moon came to take them home, not one child was on the shore. They had all fallen into the water.

“Oh!” she cried. “Queen Darkness is there! She has taken all the dear children.”

The Moon was so sorry for Queen Sunshine that she would not go home and tell her that Queen Darkness had taken the children.

Queen Darkness gladly carried their good servant, the Moon, to her dark castle to live with Queen Sunshine’s children.

She named them the Star-children. Queen Darkness always keeps the Star-children near her. The little ones are so close together that they look like a silver ribbon on her dress.

Whenever she comes in her golden dress to[65] the shore of the sea, the water is so bright that she cannot find them.

Queen Darkness does not let the Star-children go out when it is light, but once every night she leads them across the sky.

Their mother always follows after them. Sometimes she sees one of her children far away.

The kind old servant, the Moon, sometimes runs away and comes to Queen Sunshine to tell her about her children.

He made, in clay, such beautiful bowls and vases, that people came from far and near to buy them.

Some young men lived with him. The master artist taught them how to make the same beautiful things.

One summer day, one of these young men was very sad. A little boy with golden hair ran up to him and said, “Dear Luca, why are you so unhappy?”

“Oh, Raphael!” said Luca. “The great duke wants us to paint him a bowl and a vase. The master says that the artist who makes the most beautiful one may live with him always. He will also have a gift from the duke.”

“You dear child!” cried Luca. “You are only seven years old. You cannot help me.”

Then Luca said, “You may try, Raphael. It can do no harm. I can never paint the vase and the bowl.”

He was glad, too, that the master artist had taught him how to put the colors on the clay.

All through the long summer days the child worked alone. He would not let any one see his painting till it was done.

“Dear Luca, see!” he said. “There are the vase and the bowl for you to give the duke!”

“Wonderful child!” he said. “I cannot call this beautiful work mine. It would not be right.”

“Here is something very beautiful,” he said, taking a bowl in his hand. “Who painted this?”

Then a little boy with golden hair went to him. “I painted it,” he said. “I, Raphael.”

Tears of joy came into the great duke’s eyes. He took a golden chain from around his neck and gave it to Raphael.

The little boy said, “But it is Luca’s. I painted the bowl for him to give to you.”

But Luca did not hear him. He was kneeling again at the feet of the wonderful child.

The only beautiful thing in their little house was a white stove. It was very large, and it had wonderful colored pictures all over it.

Karl and his brothers and sisters loved it dearly. In the summer they covered it with flowers.

In the winter the children sat around the stove, while Karl drew them pictures and told them stories.

One cold winter night the father came home very late. He could not find work, and the children had not enough to eat.

Then the father told Karl and his sister that he had sold the great white stove.

“I must,” said his father. “It is a wonderful stove. There is a man who will give me a great[72] deal of gold for it. I must have gold to buy bread for my little ones.”

“Wait awhile,” said Karl. “I will help. I am sure there is work I can do.”

Karl’s father shook his head and went away. He thought such a very little boy could not help him.

In the morning the man came and carried the stove away in a wagon. Karl was so unhappy that he could do nothing but cry and cry.

By and by when no one was looking, he hid inside the great white stove. It was very dark, but it was warm, and soon he was fast asleep.

When Karl opened his eyes, he wondered where he could be. He lay quite still and listened.

He traveled a long, long time. At last the stove[73] was set down on a soft rug. Then some one said, “What a wonderful stove!”

The door was opened, and Karl jumped out. He fell on his knees before a man who had a very kind face.

“Oh,” cried he, “please do not send me away! Let me stay here with my dear white stove.”

“Poor child!” said the man, as he laid his hand on Karl’s hand. “Why did you hide in the stove? Tell me for I can help you. I am the king.”

III

Karl was glad to tell the king all about the great white stove. He told him how much they all loved it. He said that they had to send it away because they had no bread to eat.

“Do let me stay with it,” he said again. “I will cut wood for it and feed it. The stove loves to have me feed it, for I have done it so long.”

“I should like to paint pictures, beautiful pictures, like those on the stove,” said the little boy.

So the king told Karl that he could stay in the castle with the great white stove.

Karl became a great artist and painted beautiful pictures. Then the king gave him the stove.

Karl sent it back to the little house where his father still lived. He often went there to see his father and the great white stove.

He was thankful that he had traveled so far inside of the stove that winter day.

Naka lives in a queer little round house made of cakes of snow. The door is so close to the ground that she has to creep in and out on her hands and knees.

She first put on stockings made of bird skins. The soft feathers kept her feet very warm. Over the stockings she wore another pair made of bearskin.

Next she put on a white bearskin coat. This had a hood which she put over Naka’s short, dark hair.

They climbed a hill and saw the sun just rising; the beautiful, bright sun which they had not seen for so long!

It soon went away, but the next day it came again and stayed longer. After a while it did not go away at all.

All day and all night the bright sun was shining on the earth. Naka had a merry time playing in the warm sunshine.

Then, too, she saw again the beautiful northern lights, which are brighter than fireworks.

A boy artist named Michael Angelo often came there to study. One day he saw across the garden the statue of a faun that had no head.

He made a head of a laughing faun. The mouth was open so that the teeth could be seen.

About this time the Grand Duke was walking in his garden. He stopped to look at the statue made by the boy artist.

“Well done, Angelo!” said the Grand Duke. “But, see! You have made an old faun. He should not have all his teeth.”

This pleased the Grand Duke so much that he asked Angelo to live with him in his castle.

The years Michael Angelo spent among the beautiful statues in the Grand Duke’s garden helped him to become a great artist.

He could not go to school, for he worked on a farm with his father. He went to school only one year.

His mother taught him how to read and write in the evenings. When everybody had gone to bed, he would sit and read by the light of a log fire.

There were only two or three books in the house. Lincoln read them over and over.

One day a man let him take a book about George Washington. When he went to bed, Lincoln put it between the logs of the house.

When he awoke he found that the snow had fallen upon the book and spoiled it. He took it back to the man and told him he was very sorry.

The man said, “You must either pay for the book, or work three days in my corn-field.”

At the end of the three days the man said, “You are an honest boy, Abe. You may keep the book.”

Once, when he was a boy, Lincoln was standing on a log making a speech. The boys were clapping their hands and shouting.

One of the boys saw a turtle. He picked it up and threw it down at Lincoln’s feet. The poor turtle could not crawl away with its broken shell.

Lincoln did not like this. He jumped off the log and said, “Whoever did that is a coward!”

The boys were sorry for the poor turtle. They gently picked it up and carried it down to the water.

Lincoln had on some new clothes. He did not want to get them muddy, so he passed on.

But he could not help thinking about the poor pig. He turned back and helped the pig out.

Lincoln became a very great man. He was so wise and kind that the people made him President.

He did so much for his country that we keep his birthday on the 12th of February.

Over one hundred years ago, there lived in Philadelphia a young woman named Betsy Ross.

From the time she was a little girl she liked to sew. When her husband died she made money by her needlework.

He wanted a new flag for his soldiers to carry in their war against the King of England.

When he heard of the beautiful needlework of Betsy Ross, he came to ask her to help him.

A few days later Betsy Ross showed General Washington the flag. She had cut it and sewed it with her own hands.

General Washington was so pleased that he told his soldiers to have their flags made at once.

Near the poet Longfellow’s home there was a blacksmith shop. A beautiful chestnut tree grew beside it and spread its branches over the shop.

Little children often looked in at the open door on their way home from school. They liked to see the sparks fly from the anvil.

The poet Longfellow sometimes passed by the shop. He thought it was such a pretty picture that he wrote a poem about it. He called the poem “The Village Blacksmith.”

Longfellow loved the tree and felt sorry when it was cut down. He and the chestnut tree had grown old together.

The children wanted to show their love for him. They had the wood from the tree made into a chair and gave their pennies to pay for it.

This gift made Longfellow very happy. He thanked the children by writing a beautiful poem, called “From My Arm-Chair.”

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the beautiful poem called “Singing.” It is in a book which he named “A Child’s Garden of Verses.”

He was sick much of the time and had to live in a warm country. His home was far away in the South Seas on a beautiful island.

Robert Louis Stevenson built his house on a hillside among the large forest trees. Here the flying foxes came to rest. At night great bats flew about.

The house was three miles from the nearest town. The trees grew close and high along the path that led to it. They used packhorses to carry things from the town to the house.

A beautiful stream ran through the ground. Orange trees grew along the banks. Here Robert Louis Stevenson came to bathe and swim.

Mrs. Stevenson had a garden in which grew oranges, lemons, bananas, and breadfruit trees.

Robert Louis Stevenson had a brown pony named Jack. He and Jack were great friends and had many fine rides together.

In this warm country Robert Louis Stevenson grew so much better that he once said,

“It is like a fairy story that I should become well and strong. I go boating, riding, bathing, and work hard with my wood-knife in the forest.”

The people on the island do not look as we do. Their skin is brown. Many bright flowers grow on the island. The women always wear flowers in their hair.

The people loved Mr. Stevenson very dearly. When they learned that he wrote stories, they named him Tusitala. That means The Story Writer.

Once some of the chiefs were put in prison. Robert Louis Stevenson did not think this was right.

At last the chiefs were set free. They wanted[91] to show their love for Mr. Stevenson, so they made a road from the town to his house.

When the road was made the chiefs gave a great feast. All the people on the island came to it.

“To show our great love for Tusitala we have made this gift. It shall never be muddy. It shall go on forever, this road that we have dug.”

He was sailing toward home one day when he came to the land where Æolus lived. Æolus was king of all the winds that blow.

Sometimes he sent soft winds to fill the sails of the ships at sea. Sometimes he sent winds that made the waters roar. Then he called them back and the sea would become quiet again.

Ulysses and his sailors were glad to stay for a time in the land of Æolus. They were tired of traveling so long.

When they were ready to go away, King Æolus filled their boat with food and many gifts. One of these gifts was a large bag made of skin.

King Æolus said to Ulysses, “In this bag I have tied all the winds that blow. If you wish to go more quickly toward home, open the bag and let one of the winds fly out. Then tie the bag again.”

Day after day Ulysses sailed his boat safely over the sea. But one night when he was asleep, his sailors wondered what was in the large bag made of skin.

How they made the waters roar around the boat! Even Ulysses could do nothing to quiet them. For many days the boat was tossed about by the waves.

At last the sailors saw land. They were very glad to pull the boat upon the shore, and rest.

They did not know where they were. The winds had made the boat go far from its path.

The sailors were sorry that they had opened the bag which King Æolus had given Ulysses.

A long-time afterward the travelers came home. Ulysses often told the story of his friend, King Æolus, and his gift of the Bag of Winds.

The Feast of Dolls is the happiest day in the year for the little girls in Japan. It is the third day of March.

The night before, while the little girls are asleep, great boxes of dolls are taken from the store-room.

The mothers and grandmothers of the little girls played with some of these. Others are very much older.

On the day of the Feast of Dolls, the little girls wake up early and run to the feast room.

Each doll must be dressed. This takes a long time, for some of the little girls have a great many dolls.

By this time the feast is ready. The dolls cannot eat the rice cakes and drink the tea, so their little mothers do this for them.

When the long, happy day is over, the dolls are undressed. Then they are put away until the Feast of Dolls comes again.

The fifth of May is the great day for boys in Japan. It is called the Feast of Flags.

Everywhere poles with gold paper balls on the top may be seen. Paper flags of all colors fly from these.

The boys get up early on the day of the Feast[99] of Flags. They go to the room where the dolls had their feast.

Now the room is filled with flags, toy soldiers, and the games that boys like. Their grandfathers and great-grandfathers played with some of these.

All day long the boys play at war with their soldiers. Sometimes they go into the garden and shoot at straw soldiers.

Every one in the house stands near while the boy ties this to a string. Then they watch him raise it to the top of the pole which is set before the house.

The wind fills out the hollow body of the fish. It pulls at the end of the string as if it were alive.

The name of this fish is the carp. It is so strong that it can swim very fast and even jump over waterfalls.

In America, fathers tell their sons to be brave and strong like the eagle. But in Japan, they tell them to be brave and strong like the carp.

People did not know much about lightning in those days. Franklin made a kite to catch some of it.

He knew that rain would spoil paper, so he covered his kite with silk. He put a piece of pointed wire at the top of the kite to draw the lightning into it.

At the end of the string he tied a key for the lightning to follow. Then he tied a piece of ribbon to the string and held it in his hand.

After a while he held his hand near the key. He saw a little spark of lightning go from the key to his hand.

After that he brought the lightning into his house on wires. He made it ring bells and do many strange things.

Other wise men have told us how to make lightning without drawing it from the skies.

Once there was a little drop of water. It lived in the great sea with hundreds of other water-drops.

When the sun shone all the little water-drops danced up and down. They looked like diamonds sparkling in the sunshine.

One day something happened. The little water-drop broke into a great many tiny drops.

At the same time it went up in the air. Other drops were going up, too. Up, up, they went, higher, and higher.

At last the water-drops were sailing far above the sea. A strong wind blew them over the land.

A man looked up at them and said, “See this big dark cloud. I think it is going to rain.”

As they sailed along, the air grew very cold. This made the little water-drops creep so close together that they became a shining raindrop.

They were so heavy that they could not float in the air. So down they all went toward the earth.

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! They fell upon the grass, the trees, and the fields.

Some of the water-drops were not heavy enough to fall to the earth. As the sun shone through them they changed into beautiful colors.

These colors were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They formed a bow across the sky.

The king asked the fairies to come because he wished them to be kind and good to the little princess.

There were thirteen fairies in the land. But the king had only twelve golden dishes. So one fairy was not asked to come to the feast. This made her very angry.

“When the princess is fifteen years old she shall prick her finger with a spinning needle and die,” said the angry fairy.

“No!” she said. “The princess shall not die. She shall fall asleep for a hundred years.”

The king and the queen were frightened. So they said that no spinning-wheel should be used in all the land.

One day, when the princess was fifteen years old, she went into a high tower of the castle. There sat an old woman spinning.

The old woman gave the needle to the princess. She pricked her finger and fell back fast asleep.

A hedge of thorns soon grew around the castle. It was so high and thick that no one could pass through it.

III

One hundred years after, a king’s son was hunting. He saw the towers of a castle far away.

He rode toward the castle and at last came to the hedge of thorns. As the prince looked he saw that it was not a hedge of thorns, but a hedge of beautiful flowers.

The prince passed through the hedge of flowers and followed a path to the castle.

There lay the princess fast asleep. She was so beautiful that the prince kissed her hand.

The princess opened her eyes and said, “My prince, I have waited for you here a hundred years.”

That night there was a great feast in the castle. Ever after the prince and the princess lived happily together.

There was once a princess who left her beautiful castle. She went to live in a little house in the country.

“I did not ask for birds’ eggs,” said the princess. “Buy hens’ eggs, of course.”

The servant shook her head and said, “We have no hens. I do not know what kind of birds they are.”

The princess thought that she would surprise the boys and the girls of the village. So she sent an old man far away.

All the children of the village ran after him. They wanted to know what he was carrying on his head.

The old man set the coop down, opened the little door, and a large rooster stepped out.

The children all cried, “Oh, what a wonderful bird that is!” They did not know what to call him.

Then out stepped the hens. There was a white one, and one that was brown, and one that had tall red combs.

The princess gave the chickens some corn. When they had eaten it the rooster crowed.

The children ran home to tell about the wonderful birds that had come to live in the village.

Not long after, the princess showed the children one of the hens that was sitting.

“Fifteen eggs!” they cried. “The doves lay only two, and the other birds only five. How will the hens feed so many little ones?”

The children watched the chickens when they came out of the eggs. They were surprised that the little chickens were covered with yellow down.

“It is wonderful!” they cried. “Other little birds have no feathers. And see! They know how to run. Oh, there are no birds like them!”

By and by the princess asked the people of the village to a feast of eggs. They all sat down at a long table in the garden.

The princess showed them how to break the eggs. Then she cooked them in many ways.

The people of the village liked the feast of eggs. When they went home, the princess gave them some chickens.

She had no apples and nuts to give them. So she colored some eggs red, blue, and yellow.

When the children came, the princess took them into the woods. She told them to make nests out of the grass and leaves.

They left the nests under the trees. Then they went into the garden where a feast was waiting for them.

While they were eating, the princess carried the colored eggs into the woods. She filled the nests with them.

Then she went back to the children and said, “Come, now! Let us look for our nests.”

The children hunted everywhere. When they found the nests, they clapped their hands for joy. In each nest lay five colored eggs.

“And mine are as yellow as the butterfly that is flying around us,” said another.

“Oh,” they all cried, “how we should like to see the chickens that lay such beautiful eggs!”

“Of course hens do not lay them,” said one little girl. “Hens’ eggs are white.”

“I saw a rabbit running away from my nest,” said another. “I believe a little rabbit laid them.”

All the children laughed and said, “Yes, yes! The rabbits laid the colored eggs!”

But the farmers were angry. They did not want the birds to eat the corn in the fields, and the cherries on the trees.

The farmers said that all the birds must be killed. But the birds had one friend.

This friend stood up before the farmers and said, “Think of your woods and fields without the birds! Who will drive the worms from your fields and gardens?

“The birds pay you well for the grain and the[117] cherries that they eat. What will you do without their sweet music?”

They sent men and boys into the fields and the woods to kill the birds. The little ones were left to die in their nests.

When summer came, there was not a bird to be seen. Hundreds of worms ate everything that grew in the gardens and fields.

That autumn there were no red and yellow leaves on the trees. The branches were dry and brown.

Then the farmers were sorry. The next spring they sent a man away to bring the birds from all the country around.

One day the man drove a wagon covered with green branches into the village. Cages filled with singing birds hung upon the branches.

She told her father that she wanted to make people happy who had no gardens. So Father called her The Traveler’s Joy.

But Mary liked best of all to play in the Squire’s meadow. It was filled with beautiful flowers and singing birds.

Mary cried when her father told her that he and the Squire were no longer friends. He said she must not play in the meadow with the Squire’s great dog, Saxon.

One day, the gardener gave Mary some pretty cowslips. She forgot what her father had told her, and ran down to the Squire’s meadow to plant them.

Soon she heard a loud shout. She looked up and saw the old Squire running toward her. With one hand he held his dog, Saxon, who was trying to get away.

Mary was so frightened that she did not hear what the Squire was saying. She told him that[120] she was not digging up his cowslips, but planting them.

Just then Saxon came running toward her. The Squire stopped shouting to her, and called to Saxon. He did not know that Mary and Saxon were such good friends.

Mary threw her arms around Saxon’s neck, and began to cry. Then she picked up her basket and ran home as fast as she could.

Every day she thought the old Squire would come and tell her father. But he never came.

The next spring it was great fun to look for the flowers which The Traveler’s Joy had planted.

One day Mary’s father sent for her. When she came home, she found the old Squire talking to her father. He held some cowslips in his hand.

He gave them to Mary, and said, “My dear, I am sorry that I sent you out of the meadow.”

The old Squire put his hand on her head. “I know, my child,” he said. “You are The Traveler’s Joy.”

“I am glad the cowslips grew,” Mary said. “I hope they will grow all over your meadow.”

“Oh, please, please, do not give it away!” cried Mary. “Can’t I play there with Saxon, and plant flowers?”

The Squire smiled at her father, and said, “Yes, Mary! You may play, and plant, and do what you like there.”

Father put his arm around the little girl. “You do not know what the Squire means. Do you, dear?” he said. “The Squire has given it to you. Now we shall always call it Mary’s Meadow.”

Then came the May Queen with a crown of flowers on her head, and a long wand in her hand.

The girls marched behind the May Queen, carrying the pretty May baskets which they had made. The boys were waving flags and blowing horns.

When they came to the woods, the boys set[123] up the May-pole and all the children danced around it.

In and out they went weaving the bright ribbons. The girls went to the left, the boys to the right. They bowed as they passed each other, and sang the pretty May-pole song.

Then some of the children ran down to the water to sail boats, and others went up, up, in the swings.

The older girls set the table. What a beautiful table it was! There were sandwiches, and oranges, and cakes, and nuts, and candy.

After the children had eaten all the good things, they went through the woods gathering flowers.

They filled the pretty baskets with flowers, and stood them side by side. But the children could not tell which they liked the best.

That night, when it was dark, each girl and boy put a basket on the door-step of a friend, then rang the bell and ran away.

They had such a good time that they wished May-day came oftener than once a year.

She put on her hat made of poppies. Then she stepped into a chariot drawn by a pair of winged dragons.

“Dear Mother,” said Proserpina, “may I go down to the shore and play with the sea-maids?”

“Yes, child,” answered Mother Ceres, “but you must not go alone into the fields.”

The sea-maids heard Proserpina calling. Soon she saw them coming up out of the water. They made a chain of beautiful shells and hung it around Proserpina’s neck.

“How pretty it is!” said Proserpina. “Wait for me here while I run into the fields. I want to make each of you a chain of flowers.”

Proserpina’s hands were soon full of flowers. She was turning to go back, when she saw a beautiful plant near her.

“I will put it in my garden,” said Proserpina. She pulled and pulled. Soon Proserpina held the plant in her hands. She was surprised to see the deep hole which its roots left in the ground.

The hole grew deeper and wider, and Proserpina heard a loud noise under the ground.

Four black horses jumped out of the hole, drawing a golden chariot. In it sat a very dark man, with a crown of diamonds on his head.

The man caught Proserpina in his arms, and shouted to his horses. They went so fast that they seemed to fly through the air.

Proserpina was frightened and called out, “Mother! Mother Ceres! Come quickly and help me!”

“I will not harm you,” said the man. “I am King Pluto. All the gold and silver under the ground belong to me.

“I will give you a garden full of prettier[127] flowers than those in your hand. Where I live all the flowers are made of pearls and rubies.”

Just then Proserpina saw Mother Ceres in a field far away. She gave a loud cry, but King Pluto only made the horses go faster.

As they went under the earth it grew darker and darker. By and by they came to his castle. It was made of gold and lighted with lanterns made of diamonds. There was no sunshine in King Pluto’s country.

“Try to be happy, little Proserpina,” he said. “You may have my crown to play with. If you like, you may sit beside me and be my little queen.”

“I do not want golden castles and crowns,” sobbed Proserpina. “Please carry me back to my mother.”

Dinner was ready for them but Proserpina would eat nothing. She knew that if she ate the food or drank the water of King Pluto’s country, she could never see her mother again.

III

Mother Ceres heard Proserpina’s loud cry. She looked all around but could not see her. Then she drove home quickly, but she could not find her in the house.

“She left us this morning to gather flowers,” said one of them. “We have not seen her since.”

It was now almost dark. Mother Ceres lighted her torch, and went from house to house asking every one about her child.

Day and night for six long months she hunted for her little girl. Her torch burned dimly by day but at night it lighted her path.

Then Mother Ceres said, “The grain shall not grow, nor the flowers bloom, until my little girl is given back to me.”

The earth turned brown, and there was no food for men nor animals. So they asked King Pluto to make the earth green by sending Proserpina home.

Proserpina had grown very hungry. She had just begun to eat some fruit when King Pluto told her she could go back to her mother.

As she walked along, everything turned green. Beautiful flowers grew in her path. The cows[130] and the sheep began to eat the grass and the birds to sing in the trees.

Mother Ceres was sitting on the door-step when she heard Proserpina say, “Here I am, Mother dear.”

How happy Mother Ceres was, to hold her little girl in her arms once more. Proserpina told her all about King Pluto’s castle.

“I was so unhappy, Mother dear,” she said, “that I did not eat anything until to-day. Then King Pluto gave me some fruit that had grown in one of your gardens.”

“I did not eat all of it,” said the little girl. “I swallowed only six seeds.”

“My child,” said Mother Ceres sadly, “you ate those six seeds in King Pluto’s castle. So you will have to spend six months of every year under the ground with him. While you are gone nothing shall grow. But when you come back to me in the spring, we will make the world beautiful.”

In the spring he made them boats to sail on the lake, and kites to fly in the air.

In the summer he went fishing with them and took them into the woods to gather flowers.

One day the children were standing at the foot of a tall walnut tree. Soon they heard a shout.

When they looked up the children saw their father high up in the top of the tree. Then down came the nuts! The children put them into bags and carried them home.

When the snow came, their father took them coasting. Sometimes as they went down the hill they fell into the snow.

Hawthorne liked to take long walks with his son. The little boy thought that his father was the best playmate in the world.

Once when they were out walking, they passed through some tall grass and weeds. They played these were giants and dragons which had to be cut down.

Hawthorne struck so hard that he broke his cane. Then he sat down and watched the little boy fighting with the giants and dragons.

His three children loved his stories. They read his Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales so often that they knew them almost by heart.

There was once a woman who had no little child. So one day she went to see a Wise Fairy.

“I wish for a tiny, little child,” she said. “Can you tell me where I can get one?”

“Here is a grain of corn,” said the Wise Fairy. “Plant it in a flower-pot. Then you will see what is to be seen.”

The woman kissed the red and yellow leaves. As she kissed it the flower opened with a loud snap.

In the middle of the tulip there was a little tiny girl. She was only an inch high. So they named her Thumbling.

“Thumbling must have a cradle,” said the woman. So she made her one out of a walnut shell.

Thumbling slept on the blue velvet leaves of a violet. Her cover was a pink rose leaf.

“What a pretty little girl!” she said. The Ugly Toad took the walnut shell and hopped down into the garden. A brook ran through the garden.

“I will put her out in the brook on a water-lily leaf,” said the Ugly Toad. “Then she cannot get away.”

On the largest leaf the Toad laid the walnut shell. Thumbling was in it fast asleep.

In the morning Thumbling awoke and began to cry. The Fishes looked up and saw poor little Thumbling.

The lily leaf floated down the brook and carried Thumbling away from the Ugly Toads.

III

He caught Thumbling with his long claws. Then he flew with her into a tree. How frightened little Thumbling was!

Soon many other May-bugs came into the[137] tree, to look at poor frightened little Thumbling.

When the May-bug heard this he flew down with her from the tree. He set her upon a large daisy and left her there.

She wove a bed out of the leaves of grass. She hung the bed under a large leaf to keep out the rain.

Thumbling ate the honey from the flowers. She drank the dew that stood every morning upon the leaves.

Then winter came, and it began to snow. Poor little Thumbling! She was very cold.

“You dear child!” said the Field Mouse. “Come into my warm house. You may eat dinner with me.”

The winter was long and cold. But Thumbling was happy with the kind Field Mouse.

One day Thumbling found a poor bird lying near the Field Mouse’s door. Thumbling was very sorry. She thought the bird was dead.

Thumbling wove a mat of hay. Then she laid it over the Swallow. She found some soft wool and made a warm bed.

Then Thumbling laid her head against the bird. The Swallow moved. It was not dead. It was only cold.

“Thank you, pretty child,” he said. “I am warm now. Soon I shall fly about in the bright sunshine.”

“Oh!” said Thumbling. “You cannot live out of doors. Cold winter is here. You must stay in the Field Mouse’s home.”

The Field Mouse did not like birds. But she liked Thumbling and wished to make her happy.

“I must go now,” said the Swallow. “Will you go with me, Thumbling? You may sit upon my back and I will fly out into the bright sunshine.”

“No!” said Thumbling. “The kind Field Mouse will be sorry to have me leave her.”

“No, no!” said Thumbling. “I will go with you. I do not like to live in the dark ground when it is so beautiful above.”

A large white flower was growing in a garden. The Swallow flew down and set Thumbling upon one of its broad leaves.

VII

In the middle of the flower she saw a little tiny man. He was no larger than Thumbling.

The tiny man was as pure and white as if made of glass. He had a gold crown on his head and bright wings on his shoulders.

The fairy King was glad to see Thumbling. He took off his crown and put it on her head.

Each one brought the Queen a gift, but the one she liked best was a pair of golden wings.

“You shall not be called Thumbling,” said the fairy King. “That is an ugly name. We will call you Maia.”

When the moon shines, and the stars are bright, and the warm winds blow, the fairies meet together. They come from everywhere.

The fairy queen, Titania, sends one to hang pearls of dew on the flowers. She sends another to kill the worms that are eating the roses. She sends others to frighten away the birds that cry at night.

Puck is the merriest fairy of all. He plays all sorts of tricks to make the king laugh.

The fairies dance merrily together in the moonlight. But when they are frightened they hide in acorn cups.

The king and the queen and all their fairies stay in the woods through the summer night. But when they first see the sunlight, they fly away, and follow darkness around the world.

His mother told him that the fairies always liked a Sunday child. They would help him to be a great and good man.

She said that if he were kind and true, he would see the Nixie sometime. Then the Nixie would grant him three wishes.

Nils wanted to see the Nixie more than anything else. Many a time he sat by the water where the Nixie lived and listened for her music.

Sometimes on midsummer nights he thought he could hear it. But he could not see the Nixie nor tell her his three wishes.

“Perhaps I am not good enough,” thought Nils. Then he tried to be kind to the birds and animals. He was also very gentle with his little sister.

First he wanted to be wise; then he wanted to be famous. But most of all he wanted a violin, so that he could play the Nixie’s music.

The kind old man listened to Nils’s story. Then he said, “I will teach you to play the violin.”

After a few lessons, Nils tried to play the Nixie’s music. But though his ears could hear it, his fingers could not play it.

Nils played on it all the time when he was not at work in the woods with his father.

The people said that he could play the Nixie’s music. They came from far and near to hear it. But Nils knew that he could not play it, although he could still hear it.

He played at all the feasts. He made more money with his violin than he did when he worked in the woods.

When he grew to be a man, he was very gentle and kind. People came to him when they were sad and wanted help. They called him Wise Nils.

The travelers had never heard such beautiful music. They asked Nils to go with them and play in many countries.

III

A few weeks after the men went away, a large box came to Nils. He opened it and found that the travelers had sent him a beautiful violin.

As he drew the bow over the strings, Nils said, “Now I can play the Nixie’s music.”

He ran down to the water, for it was Midsummer Night. That is the time when Nixie always plays the loudest.

After a while he heard the soft music. But when he tried to play it the music was gone. Sadly he put his violin down.

Then he said to himself, “But I have my first wish, for the people call me Wise Nils. And I might have been famous, if I had gone with the men.”

Then he thought of his third wish. He picked up his dear violin, and held it lovingly in his arms.

On the Fourth of July a number of wise men met in Philadelphia, to see about signing this paper.

An old bell-man was in the tower ready to ring the bell. His little grandson stood below to tell him when to ring it.

The old bell rang out loud and clear. How the people shouted! Cheer after cheer went up.

For many years the old bell rang out merrily on all great days. But at last a sad thing happened. A large crack was found in it.

The old bell could never ring any more. But the people loved it better than ever.

They gave it a home in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where every year travelers go to see it.

The man took it into a village where some soldiers were getting ready to go to the war.

“An eagle! An eagle!” shouted the soldiers. “Let us take him to the war.”

They put red, white, and blue ribbons around his neck, and named him Old Abe. They covered his perch with the American flag and marched into camp.

When the eagle heard the people cheer, he took the flag in his beak and spread his wings.

Often he would spread his wings and fly far up into the sky. Then how the men cheered!

Sometimes Old Abe flew away to look for food and he would be gone for two or three days. But he always found his soldiers again.

At one time the soldiers’ food was nearly gone. For two days Old Abe had nothing to eat.

Tom, the man who carried Old Abe, felt very sorry. He went to his captain and begged him to let him go out and get food for poor Old Abe.

Old Abe was very fond of music, and liked to drill with the soldiers. He watched the captain and did as he was told.

At last the war came to an end. The brave eagle that had been in so many battles was taken home.

A large house was built for him. The soldier who had carried him through the war took care of him.

Once I was a tiny seed covered over with a brown coat. I had many brothers and sisters.

Cotton Seed was my name. Tom picked me up and I was soon put into a little bed close to a great river. I began to feel larger and larger.

At last I had three beautiful blossoms. Soon all my pretty leaves left me, to go with Mr. Wind.

One day the buds left by the blossoms burst open. I was covered with cotton as white as snow and as soft as silk.

I was sorry to leave the fields, and said, “Good-by, dear old body and leaves! Good-by, dear river!”

III

A machine took away from me many little hard seeds. They looked just as I did before I went to sleep in Mother Earth.

After a while I was loaded on a ship which sailed on a great sea. By and by the ship stopped.

A great many strange things were done to me. I was cleaned, and twisted, and spun, and woven.

Then I went under another roller which put green stems on the cherries. It left green leaves close to the stems.

One day a little girl from the country came into the store. She had a basket of eggs. When she saw me she gave all of her eggs for me.

Then I was made into a pretty dress. I gave much joy to the little girl who liked to wear me to school.

Deep down in the sea, there was a beautiful red and yellow castle. Its roof was made of shells which opened and shut to let the water in and out.

There the sea king lived with his six daughters. They were pretty little girls, with long, golden hair, and blue eyes. They had no feet, but they had tails like fishes.

Sometimes the fish would swim through the windows of the castle. They often ate out of the hands of the little sea-maids.

Outside the castle, the sisters had a garden, where flowers grew in the blue sand.

On her fifteenth birthday, each of the little sea-maids went up through the water for the first time. The sisters promised to tell what they liked best in the world above.

The oldest sister came down to the castle and said, “I liked best to watch the lights on the land, and to hear the bells ring.”

When the second sister was fifteen years old, she went up through the water at sunset.

“I think the golden clouds are the most beautiful things in the world,” said the second sister.

The third sister went up a wide river, with green woods and hills along the shore. “I watched some children in the water,” said the sea-maid. “How can they swim? Children have no fish tails.”

The fourth sister said, “The sea is more beautiful than the land. There are white ships, and large fishes, and many strange things to be seen here.”

The birthday of the fifth sister came in the winter. The sea was green. There were large pieces of ice in it, which seemed to frighten the sailors.

The sea-maid sat down on a piece of ice, and let the wind play with her long hair.

When she went up through the water, she saw a large white ship filled with people.

A young prince was on the ship. It was his birthday, so there were fireworks, and music, and dancing.

The little sea-maid had never seen men and women before. So she rode on the high waves and watched them.

By and by there was a storm, and the people on the ship were frightened. Soon the ship parted, and the sea-maid saw the young prince fall into the water.

She knew that he could not live in the water. So the sea-maid went up to him and held his head above the waves. When the storm was over, she laid him down on the yellow sand.

Soon the prince opened his eyes. He was very glad to be on the land once more. He did not know that he had been saved by a little sea-maid.

Often at evening the six little sisters joined hands and went up through the water. They sang to the sailors in the ships.

“Do not be afraid,” sang the sea-maids. “It is very beautiful far down under the blue water.”

But the sailors could not hear what the sea-maids were saying. They thought the sweet music was the sound of the wind.

One summer day, long ago, a great many people came together to listen to a festival of song. They sat around in bright colored tents, laughing and feasting.

By and by some one shouted, “The Mastersingers! The Mastersingers!” The people cheered them as they passed to their places.

At last a young man took his lute and stood before the people. While he was singing a beautiful song of spring, one of the strings of his lute broke.

Just then a cricket jumped upon the lute. Whenever the singer touched the broken string, the cricket sang.

Those who listened did not know of the broken string. The song of the cricket was like the music of the lute.

When the song was ended, the women clapped their hands. The men waved their hats and cheered.

No one had ever heard such beautiful music. The Mastersong had been sung. They crowned the singer with flowers and hung a gold chain around his neck.

In his left hand the Mastersinger holds a lute. The other hand points to a cricket that stands beside a broken string.

The statue tells us that the great man did not forget the little friend that helped him sing the Mastersong.

She had heard that King Solomon was very wise. But she did not believe that he knew everything.

The queen gave him a red rose which she had brought from the garden. She also gave him a rose that was made of red paper. They looked just alike.

“King Solomon,” she said, “you are very wise. Can you tell me at once which rose is made of paper, and which grew in the garden?”

King Solomon looked at them, but he could not tell. So he said to his servants, “Open the windows.”

Some bees flew into the room. They buzzed around the rose that grew in the garden.

King Solomon pointed to the other one. “That rose,” said he, “is made of paper.”

A tall lighthouse stood far out at sea, on a white rock. Once upon a time a little girl lived there with her father, mother, and two brothers.

There were no children for her to play with, and she could not go to school. But she was never sad and lonely.

She loved her rocky home, with the bright light above it, and the great sea roaring around it. She loved the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the clouds.

Often she made herself a crown of pink morning-glories. She put this on her head, and danced about on the rocks like a flower-fairy.

Often, when the windows were covered with frost, she put her pennies against them. Then she blew on the pennies till they were warm.

The warm pennies made holes in the frost, so that the little maid could look out on the deep blue sea.

How happy she was if a ship passed by! She wondered where it came from and where it was going.

Then she would call out, “Take me to ride with you, sea-bird, between your wide wings!”

Every evening she watched the lighting of the great lantern in the tower of the lighthouse. She was a proud little girl when she was old enough to light it.

Best of all she liked the evenings by the fireside with her books and playthings.

The wind roared, and the waves dashed against the rocks, but she was safe and warm.

III

She could hardly wait for the dry, brown seeds to grow into the flowers she loved so well.

Then she cut sailor boys out of sea wood, and put them in the boats. With merry shouts she sent them out on the great sea.

Often she sailed shell boats in the pools of water which she found in the rocks.

These pools were filled with wonderful sea plants and animals. She called them the gardens of the sea.

When she grew to be a woman she went to live on the mainland. But the sea was always singing in her ears like a hollow shell.

She wanted others to know how beautiful it was, so she wrote many poems about the sea.

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		PAGE
SEPTEMBER:	Helen Hunt Jackson
Indian Corn		11
The Coming of the Corn—Henry W. Longfellow (Adapted)		14
Arabella’s Party		16
The Caterpillar—Emilie Poulsson		18
Rumpel-Stilts-Kin—Jacob and William Grimm (Adapted)		19
OCTOBER:	William Allingham
Hiawatha’s Canoe—Henry W. Longfellow (Adapted)		25
Hiawatha’s Sailing—Henry W. Longfellow (Adapted)		26
Lady Gray		27
The Elves and the Shoemaker—Jacob and William Grimm		29
Hallowe’en		31
Pop-corn Song—Sophia T. Newman		34
Philemon and Baucis—Nathaniel Hawthorne (Adapted)		35
NOVEMBER:	John G. Whittier
The First Thanksgiving Day		41
Thanksgiving Day Long Ago		44
Thanksgiving Day—Lydia Maria Child		46
Whittier		48
Pattie’s New Dress—Maud Lindsay (Adapted)		51
DECEMBER:	Old Song
Christmas Carol		56
The Birds’ Christmas Feast		57
Piccola		59[vi]
The Star-Children—Fraulein Meissner (Adapted)		62
The Stars—May Moore Jackson		65
Raphael—Louise de la Ramée (Adapted)		67
JANUARY:	Dinah M. Mulock
The Great White Stove—Louise de la Ramée (Adapted)		71
The Flock of Doves—Celia Thaxter		75
The Midnight Sun		77
Michael Angelo		80
FEBRUARY:	Eve Brodlique Summers
A Valentine—Eve Brodlique Summers		83
Abraham Lincoln		84
The First Flag		87
Longfellow’s Arm-chair		88
The Road of the Loving Heart		89
Singing—Robert Louis Stevenson		91
MARCH:	Celia Thaxter
The Four Winds—Edmund Clarence Stedman		93
The Bag of Winds		94
The Feast of Dolls		97
The Feast of Flags		98
Franklin’s Kite		100
Boats Sail on the Rivers—Christina G. Rossetti		102
The Story of a Water-drop—Eva Mayne (Adapted)		103
APRIL:	Lucy Larcom
The Sleeping Princess—Jacob and William Grimm (Adapted)		106
An Open Secret—Unknown		110
The Feast of Eggs—Christoph Schmid (Adapted)		111
The Easter Egg—Christoph Schmid (Adapted)		114
The Farmer and the Birds		116[vii]
MAY:	Emily Huntington Miller
Mary’s Meadow—Juliana Horatio Ewing (Adapted)		119
The May Party		122
Come, My Dolly—Lydia Avery Coonley-Ward		124
Proserpina—Nathaniel Hawthorne (Adapted)		125
Hawthorne and His Children		131
JUNE:	Selected
Thumbling—Hans Christian Andersen (Adapted)		134
Midsummer Night—Shakespeare (Adapted)		143
The Teeter—Maud Burnham		144
The Nixie’s Music—Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (Adapted)		145
JULY:	Francis Scott Key
America—Samuel F. Smith		150
Liberty Bell		152
The Soldier Bird		155
The Calico’s Story—The Youths’ Companion (Adapted)		157
AUGUST:	Ella Higginson
The Six Little Sea-Maids—Andersen (Adapted)		162
The Singer and the Cricket		166
King Solomon and the Bees		168
The Little Maid of the Lighthouse		169
Good Night and Good Morning—Lord Houghton		173
WORD LIST		177

ix	seasons
x	goldenrod
	orchards
	fruit
	bending
	tokens
	September
	beauty
	cheer
11	Indian
	ago
	tent
	skins
	bark
	wigwam
	wore
	deer
	beads
	swam
	hunt
	arrows
	food
	tied
	branch
12	feathers
	hair
	painted
	face
	fierce
	cried
	else
	wanted
	brave
13	people
	Pilgrims
	ground
	place
	pile
	found
	belonged
	paid
	taken
	taught
	useful
14	Hiawatha
	chief
	dressed
	Mondamin
	wrestle
15	grew
	win
	lie
	stood
	tall
	showed
	gift
	always
16	Arabella
	Ruth
	Peter
	many
	rag
	queer
	squash
17	ready
	Patty Corncob
	pink
	almost
	Betty Clothes-pin
	drew[178]
	hat
	Dinah
	silk
	smiled
	seemed
18	caterpillar
	fuzzy
	crawling
	though
	we’ve
	tight
	snug
	cocoon
	spun
	slept
	stirring
	spy
	spreading
	gorgeous
	free
	creature
	flutters
	gaily
19	Rumpel-Stilts-Kin
	wicked
	daughter
	spin
	straw
	filled
	die
	locked
	brownie
	chain
	lo
	behold
	reel
21	ring
	queen
22	nothing
	held
	unhappy
	land
23	dancing
	bonfire
	brew
	to-morrow
	nobody
	Tom
	Robert
	told
24	October
	orange
	hosts
	princes
	they’ll
	ghosts
	leathery
	pears
	russet
	late
	’twill
25	canoe
	Birch-tree
	cloak
	waved
	Cedar
	bent
	frame
	Larch-tree
	sadly
	pulled
26	Fir-tree
	balm
	sailing
	rushing
	stately
	valley
	float
	water-lily
27	Lady Gray
	hid
	each
	porch
	kept
	became
	gentle
	pockets
	shoulder
28	fur
29	elves[179]
	shoemaker
	pair
	standing
	sold
	bought
	four
	done
	evening
30	wife
	rapped
	quickly
	rich
	Christmas eve
	across
31	Hallowe’en
	Ben
	Polly
	Martha
	pumpkins
	Jack-o’-lantern
	chose
	stem-end
	nose
	mouth
	candle
	much
	threw
	hurrah
33	toast
	pop
	roast
	march
	rug
	joined
34	Cinderella
	coach
	poem
	learned
	moments
	stories
	clack
	kernels
	whirl
	skip
	fellow
	leap
	snap
	crack
	tossing
	pour
	swift
	fit
35	Philemon
	Baucis
36	ever
	traveler
	door-step
	shouting
	meet
	welcome
	strangers
39	grant
	knees
	linden
40	November
	ah
	Thanksgiving Day
	guest
	moistens
	lip
	past
	pie
41	first
	harvest
	blessing
	Governor
	feast
42	plenty
	gathered
	wild
	plums
	grapes
	ashes
	breakfast
	whole
	games
	God
	goodness[180]
	since
44	kitchen
	burning
	strings
	dried
	above
	taking
	care
	pudding
	rows
	loud
45	uncle
	sleigh
	aunt
	drove
46	drifted
	stings
	toes
	bites
47	first-rate
	bells
	ting-a-ling-ding
	trot
	dapple-gray
	hound
	straight
	yard
	gate
	extremely
	slow
48	Whittier
	bare
	feet
	swimming
	merry
	whistle
	strawberries
	feed
	knew
49	another
	Snow-Bound
	pole
50	cave
	rooster
	closed
	roared
51	cloth
	Rachel
	carded
	fine
	smooth
	fastened
	spindle
	Zum
	sounded
	thread
	fleecy
	hum
	twist
	twirl
53	questions
	answer
	buttons
	color
	Joe
	chestnut
	dye
	dipped
	guessed
	loom
	treadle
	shuttle
	woven
54	snip
	scissors
	stitch
	Jack Frost
	I’m
55	forth
	holly
	box
	bay
	deck
	cottage
	December
56	carol
	angels
	heaven
	souls
58	Santa Claus[181]
	grain
	wonderful
	happens
	bunch
	twittering
59	Piccola
	Fred
	because
	church
60	stocking
	toys
	awoke
61	candy
62	dearly
	also
	servant
	darkness
	same
64	fallen
	sorry
	close
	ribbon
65	leads
	sight
	they’re
	dawn
	sink
67	Raphael
	master
	artist
	clay
	vases
	buy
	Luca
	duke
	wants
	neck
68	seven
	try
	harm
	draw
69	tears
	joy
	kneeling
70	January
	rosy
	cozy
71	stove
	Karl
	pictures
72	deal
	thought
	floor
	wagon
	climbed
	inside
	quite
	listened
74	thankful
75	flock
	world
	wilderness
	downy
	plumed
	feathery
	flakes
	below
	poppy
	cunning
	beneath
	touch
	fair
	grown
	wrought
	fence
	array
	folded
	pinions
76	tones
	rang
	sped
	Nannie
	alive
	hush
	frighten
	whisper
	delight
	crept
	wondrous[182]
	joyfully
	clasped
	cheeks
77	midnight
	Naka
	nearly
	hands
	short
	noon
	dim
79	rocks
	reindeer
	northern
80	Michael Angelo
	Grand Duke
	statues
	faun
	stopped
81	spent
	among
	become
82	February
	valentine
	least
	don’t
	really
83	own
	write
	shaped
84	between
	Abraham Lincoln
	George Washington
	spoiled
	either
	pay
	Abe
85	unkind
	speech
	clapping
	turtle
	shell
	coward
	gently
	muddy
	wise
	President
87	flag
	Philadelphia
	Betsy Ross
	husband
	money
	General
	soldiers
	war
	England
	planned
	thirteen
	stripes
	later
88	Longfellow
	poet
	blacksmith
	shop
	sparks
	anvil
	wrote
	village
	felt
	pennies
	writing
89	road
	heart
	Robert Louis Stevenson
	verses
	island
	forest
	foxes
	bats
	miles
	town
	led
	packhorses
	banks
	bathe
	lemons
	bananas
90	bathing[183]
	knife
	women
	wear
	Tusitala
	means
	writer
	prison
91	speckled
	sailor
	ropes
	Japan
	Spain
	organ
92	March
	blusters
	glows
	summon
	rose
93	Freddy
	scamper
	begin
	heat
	Katy
	peaches
	redden
	Arty
	shivering
	lane
	Bessie
	low
94	Ulysses
	traveling
	toward
	Æolus
	sails
	quiet
95	safely
	tossed
	waves
	afterward
97	happiest
	third
	boxes
	store-room
	early
	rice
	tea
	undressed
98	fifth
	top
99	raise
	hollow
	carp
	waterfalls
	America
	eagle
100	Benjamin Franklin
101	lightning
	pointed
	wire
	key
	rainy
	brought
	strange
	street-cars
	electricity
102	prettier
	bridges
103	shone
	diamonds
	sparkling
	happened
104	heavy
	formed
105	April
	Rollicking Robin
	doesn’t
	coaxes
	shadow
	Easter
	vest
106	princess
	fairies
	twelve
	dishes
	angry
107	fifteen[184]
	prick
	finger
	spinning
	tower
108	hedge
	thorns
	rode
110	secret
	Pussy Willow
	purred
	stroked
	velvet
	hummed
	blossoms
	scarlet
	brimming
	chattered
	fro
	clear
111	course
	surprise
	coop
112	combs
	Ki-ki-ri-ki
115	rabbit
	laid
116	merrily
	cherries
	drive
	worms
117	music
	cages
118	May
	pray
	arise
	crocus
	mantles
	purple
	daffodils
119	squire
	Saxon
	cowslips
	forgot
120	can’t
122	crown
	wand
	crowd
123	left
	wound
	sandwiches
124	gown
	frown
	you’ll
125	Proserpina
	Mother Ceres
	chariot
	dragons
	sea-maids
126	noise
	King Pluto
127	pearls
	rubies
128	sobbed
129	torch
	month
	bloom
	hungry
	begun
130	swallowed
	spend
131	Nathaniel Hawthorne
	lake
132	coasting
	weeds
	giants
	Tanglewood Tales
133	June
	lilies
	swells
134	Thumbling
	pot
	tulip
	inch
135	ugly
136	bug
	claws
137	legs
	daisy[185]
	dew
138	beggar
	clean
139	dead
141	Maia
143	Midsummer
	Titania
	Oberon
	Puck
	sorts
	tricks
	acorn
144	teeter
	weest
	won’t
	sprightly
	broadest
	blade
	balanced
	stone
145	Nixie
	Nils
	born
	Sunday
	true
	perhaps
	famous
	violin
146	schoolmaster
	lessons
147	although
149	July
	’tis
	spangled
	banner
150	liberty
	thee
	pride
	mountain
	freedom
	native
	noble
	rills
	templed
	rapture
	thrills
151	breeze
	mortal
	tongues
	breathe
	partake
	silence
	prolong
	author
	holy
	protect
	might
152	Fourth of July
	written
	number
	signing
153	Independence Hall
155	perch
	camp
	beak
	front
156	army
	drill
	captain
	battles
157	calico
	cotton
	burst
	wasn’t
	stretched
159	woolly
	machine
	loaded
160	printing
	roller
161	August
	wet
	luminous
	jellyfish
162	shut
	promised
164	storm
	saved
166	cricket[186]
	festival
	forward
	lute
167	sung
168	King Solomon
	believe
169	lonely
	morning-glories
171	dashed
172	pools
	Celia Thaxter
	mainland
173	rooks
	curious
	flight
	neighed
	lowed
	bleat
174	glove
	curtsied
	favorite
	prayer
	pillow

THE SUMMERS READERS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER.

INDIAN CORN.

II

THE COMING OF THE CORN.

ARABELLA’S PARTY.

THE CATERPILLAR.

RUMPEL-STILTS-KIN.

II

III

OCTOBER.

HIAWATHA’S CANOE.

HIAWATHA’S SAILING.

LADY GRAY.

II

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER.

HALLOWE’EN.

II

POP-CORN SONG.

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS.

II

NOVEMBER.

THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY.

II

THANKSGIVING DAY LONG AGO.

THANKSGIVING DAY.

WHITTIER.

II

PATTIE’S NEW DRESS.

II

DECEMBER.

CHRISTMAS CAROL.

THE BIRDS’ CHRISTMAS FEAST.

PICCOLA.

II

THE STAR-CHILDREN.

II

THE STARS.

RAPHAEL.

II

JANUARY.

THE GREAT WHITE STOVE.

II

III

THE FLOCK OF DOVES.

THE MIDNIGHT SUN.

MICHAEL ANGELO.

FEBRUARY.

A VALENTINE.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

II

THE FIRST FLAG.

LONGFELLOW’S ARM-CHAIR.

THE ROAD OF THE LOVING HEART.

II

SINGING.

MARCH.

THE FOUR WINDS.

THE BAG OF WINDS.

II

THE FEAST OF DOLLS.

THE FEAST OF FLAGS.

FRANKLIN’S KITE.

BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS.

THE STORY OF A WATER-DROP.

II

APRIL.

THE SLEEPING PRINCESS.

II

III

AN OPEN SECRET.

THE FEAST OF EGGS.

II

THE EASTER EGG.

THE FARMER AND THE BIRDS.

MAY.

MARY’S MEADOW.

II