Part 2

"I hear mother calling From the barn-yard wall: Courage, little sisters! Don't you hear her call?" Yes, they heard it plainly; Oh, how glad they were! "Now blow fair, thou gentle wind, Bear us all to her!"

And the wind kept blowing, Fair and fair it blew, Bearing to the barn-yard wall All that little crew. When their mother saw them, She flew down apace; On her back she bore them To a nice dry place.

EMILY CARTER.

THE GEESE AND THE HAWK.

ONE day in May as Charles walked through the fields, he saw a large hawk hovering in the air, and heard a noise as of geese cackling. Soon an old mother-goose with a troop of little ones came running towards him.

She knew that Charles would protect her and her fledglings from the cruel hawk; and she was not mistaken. He took up a stick, and, looking up at the hawk, said, "Now come on if you dare, you old thief!"

The hawk made a swoop down to the top of a tree near by, caught sight of the goslings, and would, no doubt, have liked to clutch one of them, and carry it off; but the robber-bird was not quite bold enough to do this while Charles stood by.

At last the hawk flew off out of sight, and Charles called his good dog Fido, and pointed at the geese, and said, "Take care of them, sir." So Fido sat down near by, and watched the geese. I think if the hawk had come then, Fido would have been more than a match for him.

UNCLE CHARLES.

MABEL'S SECRETS.

AND what were her secrets? She was one of the children allowed to make Christmas-gifts to their friends.

But it was hard for Mabel to keep her secrets. When her papa came home at night, she always climbed upon his knee to tell him every thing that had happened in her little world during the day; and her papa always listened to her prattle with a great deal of interest.

Now, that there was something she must not tell, Mabel could think of nothing else. She climbed upon his knee, and sat so silent, that her papa said, "Well, puss, have you nothing to tell papa to-night?"

"Oh, I mustn't tell you my secrets, papa," said wise little Mabel: "I've lots of 'em, and one is for you; and, if I tell, you will know all about it."

Now that the ice was broken, Mabel chatted on, innocently thinking that her secrets were safe in her wise little head. "Mamma knows," she continued; "but you mustn't know; and we are going to have a Christmas-tree to put 'em on, and everybody will be so _sprised_."

Sure enough, when Christmas Eve came, every one was surprised, but, most of all, little Mabel; for a beautiful doll and many other pretty things hung upon the tree for her. "Why, mamma," she exclaimed, "somebody else must have had secrets too!"

M. B. L.

THE LITTLE STUDENT.

IN the sun by the wall, with Lion close by, With her book in her hand, little Ruth you may spy: She is getting her lesson as fast as she can, While the birds sing their song and the soft breezes fan.

See, that is her slate lying there on the ground: She can make a square figure, and then make a round; She can add up a sum, if it's not very big; But she cannot yet draw me a cat or a pig.

But she tries to learn something, though little it be, Each day of her life,--something useful, you see: And in two or three years you will find she can spell, Read, cipher, and write, and do it all well.

ELLEN SIMPSON.

THE SNOW-COUNTRY.

"WHAT a funny looking man!" cried Harry, running to me with his book open, to show me a picture. "Where does he live, aunty? and why does he wear such clothes?"

"He is an Esquimau, and lives in the snow-country, and his clothes are made of fur."

"Tell me about the snow-country, aunty."

"Up in the far north, near the north pole, it is winter all the time. There the snow is always on the ground; and instead of having, as we do, many days and nights, they have only one day and one night in all the year.

"You will wonder if the people sleep all through the long night, and if they do not get tired of the long day. No; for they go to bed and get up about as often as we do.

"During the night they have the stars to light them, and bright flashing colors in the sky, such as we call the 'Northern Lights.' When the sun comes back, he makes them a long visit; but never gets so high in the sky as he does with us, and never makes the weather warm."

"What are those things in the picture that look like bee-hives?" said Harry.

"The picture shows you an Esquimaux village, and those are the houses. They are made of blocks of snow. Some of the houses have pieces of clear ice for windows. Others have no windows at all; only a small hole for a door, which is closed up with snow after the family have all gone in."

"A snow-house with ice windows!" said Harry. "Why, how do they keep warm?"

"They warm the houses with oil lamps, and get them very warm and very smoky too."

"Well," said Harry, "the Esquimaux are a queer people. I should like to hear more about them."

"I will tell you more some other time."

G. D. Y.

THE FROGGIE'S PARTY.

1. The frog who would a-wooing go, Gave a party, you must know; And his bride dress'd all in green, Look'd as fine as any queen. Their reception number'd some Of the best in Froggiedom: Four gray froggies play'd the fiddle,-- Hands all round and down the middle; Oh! oh! oh! oh! away we go! Hopping and jumping away we go!

2. Some stern old croakers there did come, In white chokers to the room; While the belles with rush-leaf fans, Danc'd with beaux in green brogans, Flirted in the bowers there, Hidden from the ball-room's glare: Three old froggies tried a reel,-- Twist 'em, turn 'em, toe and heel, With a oh! oh! oh! away we go! Hopping and jumping away we go!

3. One little Miss was ask'd to sing, But she had a cold that spring; Little frogs were sound asleep, Late hours--bad for them to keep. Each one wish'd the couple joy, No bad boys came to annoy: This next fall the news is spreading They will have their silver wedding! Oh! oh! oh! oh! away we go! Hopping and jumping away we go!

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Transcriber's Notes:

The title page and table of contents were created for this issue following the pattern from the 1877 issues.

Page 70, period added at end of paragraph (a good-sized load)

Page 75, extra comma removed. Original read (crow, is quick)

Page 95, single quotation mark changed to double quotation mark (more about them.")