Part 1

Chapter 13,919 wordsPublic domain

_THE SUMMERS READERS_

PRIMER

BY MAUD SUMMERS

ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS

FRANK D. BEATTYS AND COMPANY NEW YORK

THE DE VINNE PRESS

RHYMES AND POEMS

PAGE

1. TWO LITTLE BLACKBIRDS 22

2. SEE-SAW 24

3. ROCK-A-BY, BABY 26

4. LITTLE ROBIN REDBREAST 30

5. HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK 36

6. DO YOU KNOW HOW THE FARMER 42, 43

7. BLOW, WIND, BLOW 48

8. PAT-A-CAKE 54

9. I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER 58

10. RAIN 62

11. THANK YOU, PRETTY COW 66

12. ONCE I SAW A LITTLE BIRD 70

13. LADY MOON 74

14. THE FARMER 78, 79, 80

15. LITTLE BOY BLUE 89

16. THE BRAMBLE BUSH 96, 97, 98, 99

“The model of all education shall be the perfected family.”

_Friedrich Froebel._

Sing. Run. Jump. Hop.

Run and jump. Jump and run.

Sing and hop. Hop and sing.

Run and hop. Hop and run.

Jump and hop. Sing and jump.

I can sing. I can hop. I can run and sing. I can hop and jump.

Rover can run. Rover can jump. Rover and I can run. Rover and I can run and jump.

Kitty can run and jump. Kitty and I can run. Rover and Kitty can jump. Kitty and I can jump and run.

I see you, Rover. Run, Rover! Run! I see you, Kitty. You can run and jump.

See the bird. Can you see the bird? The bird can hop. The bird can sing.

Can you sing? Can you hop and jump? Can you see Rover and Kitty? Can you run, jump, hop, and sing?

I have a dog. I have a kitty. I have a bird.

Have you a dog? Have you a kitty? Have you a bird?

Run to me. Sing to me. Can you hop to me?

I can see you. Can you see me? See me run and hop.

I like to see the bird fly. I like to see a dog jump. I like to run, jump, and hop.

I like you, pretty bird. Can you sing, pretty bird? Pretty bird, can you fly?

Fly, pretty bird! Fly! Fly to me. I like to see you fly.

The girls may hop. The boys may jump. Sing to me, little girls. The little boys may run. A little girl may sing. The girls may run. The boys and girls may hop. A little boy may jump. The boys may sing. The girls and boys may run.

A boy runs. The boys run. A bird sings. The birds sing. I like Rover. Rover likes me.

I have a pretty little ball. I can roll the ball. See me catch the ball. You may catch the ball. Have you a ball? Can you roll the ball? Can you catch the ball?

Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! See Kitty run to me. Kitty likes to play ball. Kitty can roll the ball. Kitty can catch the ball. Run, Kitty! Run! Run and catch the ball. I like to play with Kitty.

I play ball with Baby. Baby likes to play. Baby can roll the ball. Roll the ball, Baby. Roll it to me. Catch the ball, Baby. See Baby catch the ball.

I have a baby sister. Baby Sister has blue eyes. I play with little Sister. Run, run, Baby Sister! I can catch you. Can you catch me? Baby likes to catch me. I like to play with Baby Sister.

This is Baby Sister. Baby Sister has blue eyes.

This is Baby’s ball. It is a pretty little ball.

This is Kitty’s ball. It is a little blue ball.

This is Baby’s sister Mary. Mary can catch Baby.

John has a ball. It is a big brown ball. John and the boys play ball. The boys play with John’s ball. Rover plays ball with the boys. Run, boys! Catch the ball! See! John has the ball. Run, John! Run with the ball!

What can a bird do? What can a dog do? What can a baby do? What can boys do? What can girls do? What do boys play? What do girls play? What can John do? What can you do? What do you like to play?

ACTION SENTENCES

Catch the ball, Mary. Roll it to the boys. Catch the ball, boys. Roll it to me, John.

This is my pretty doll. She is a baby doll. I sing to my baby doll. Baby Doll has brown eyes. Baby Sister has blue eyes. Baby Sister likes my doll. You may play with my doll, Baby. See Baby Sister play with my doll.

I see a little girl. She is named Mary. Mary has blue eyes. She has a brown dress. She is John’s sister.

I see a boy. He is named John. He has brown eyes. He has a sister Mary. Can you see John?

This is Mary’s doll. She has brown eyes. She has a blue dress. Have you a doll?

I see you, little frog. Can you jump? Jump, little frog! Jump! Can you catch a fly? Come to me. I have a fly. I like to see you catch a fly. I like you, little frog. Come and play with me.

Play you are blackbirds, boys. Fly, little blackbirds. Sing, little blackbirds.

Play you are bluebirds, girls. Fly, pretty bluebirds. Sing, pretty bluebirds.

Play you are a brown bird, Mary. You have a brown dress. You may hop, little brown bird.

The blackbirds may sing. The brown birds may hop. The bluebirds may fly.

Two little blackbirds Sat upon a hill, One was named Jack, The other named Jill.

Fly away, Jack! Fly away, Jill! Come again, Jack! Come again, Jill!

Jack and Jill are two birds. They are little blackbirds. They sat upon a hill. I named one Jack. I named the other Jill. Fly away, little blackbirds! Come again, Jack and Jill.

Two birds sat on a hill. One bird was blue. The other bird was brown. The brown bird was named Jill. The blue bird was named Jack. Fly away, pretty birds! Fly away! Come, bluebird! Come, brown bird! Come again to the hill.

See-saw! See-saw! Here we go up and down. See-saw! See-saw! This is the way to town.

Oh, come! Come here! Come girls and boys. Here is a see-saw. This is the way to see-saw. Here we go up, up, up! Here we go down, down, down! Oh what fun to see-saw!

See-saw! See-saw! What do you see, Mary? I see two little blackbirds. What do you see, John? I see Father with Rover. He is on the way to town. See-saw! See-saw! Up and down! Up and down!

Rock-a-by, baby, In the tree-top! When the wind blows, The cradle will rock; When the bough breaks, The cradle will fall; Down will come baby, Cradle, and all.

See the little cradle! It is in the tree-top. The wind blows the tree-top. See the cradle rock! Will the bough break? Will the cradle fall? Will baby, cradle, and all come down?

I see two baby birds. They are in a cradle. Can you see the cradle? The cradle is a little nest. The nest is in the tree-top. The wind rocks the cradle. The bough will not break. The nest will not come down.

Come, Baby! Come to Mother. Mother will sing to you. Mother will rock you to sleep. Rock-a-by, Baby, in the tree-top. Rock-a-by, dear little Baby. By, Baby, by! By, Baby, by! Sleep, my baby dear! Sleep! Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!

This is my baby doll. She is in the cradle. I like to rock my baby doll. I like to sing her to sleep. Rock-a-by! Rock-a-by! Dear little baby doll. Rock-a-by, little doll baby. Sleep, pretty baby doll! Sleep! Rock-a-by! Rock-a-by!

ACTION SENTENCES

Play rock-a-by, Baby. Make a cradle. Rock the cradle. Sing rock-a-by, Baby.

Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a tree. Up went Pussy Cat, Down went he. Down went Pussy Cat, Away Robin ran. Said little Robin Redbreast, “Catch me if you can.”

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree. Pussy Cat went up the tree. Pussy Cat said to Robin, “I will catch you.” Robin said to Pussy Cat, “Catch me if you can.” Pussy Cat went down the tree. Robin Redbreast ran away. Pussy Cat said to Robin Redbreast, “I can not catch you, Robin.”

Look at Robin Redbreast. What can Robin do? Tell me what Robin Redbreast said. Look at Pussy Cat. Tell me what Pussy Cat said.

Little Robin Redbreast, I see you. You are in the tree-top. You have a pretty red breast. You sing a pretty song. Have you a nest? Is it on a bough in the tree? Is the little mother bird on the nest? Sing to the little mother bird. Sing your pretty song, Robin Redbreast.

ACTION SENTENCES

Look at the tree. Tell me what you see. Look in the nest. Tell me what you see.

I see a little nest. It is on the bough of a tree. Oh, the pretty eggs! One, two, three—three eggs I see. They are pretty blue eggs. Come, little mother bird. Come again to your nest. Come, little father bird. Come again to the tree.

I am Robin Redbreast. Here is my nest. Blow, wind! Blow! I have three baby birds. They are in the nest. Blow, wind! Blow! Rock my baby birds. Rock the nest for me. Blow, wind! Blow!

ACTION SENTENCES

Get the cradle. Get the doll. Put the doll in the cradle. Rock the doll. Sing to the doll. Put the doll away. Put the cradle away.

The girls may play see-saw. See-saw! Up and down! The boys may play see-saw.

Fly away, Robin Redbreast. Come again, Robin Redbreast. Fly away, little mother bird. Come again, little mother bird.

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock; The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock.

Tick-tock! Tick-tock! I am a clock. I tell the time. I tell when to sleep. I tell when to get up. Can you tell the time? What time is it? Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

Look, Mother! Look! See the little mouse. It ran up the clock. The clock struck one. The mouse ran down. Run to your nest, little mouse. Here comes Pussy Cat.

Look at this hickory tree, Mary. I see a little cradle. Can you see it? It is on this bough. A nut is in the cradle. When the wind blows it will fall. Then the little cradle will break. Down will come nut, cradle, and all.

Here is a hickory nut, Father. I saw the nut fall. See! It is not in a cradle. I saw the cradle break. Plant the nut, John. This is the way to plant it. You may plant this nut, Mary. The nuts will grow, and grow, and grow. By and by they will be hickory trees.

I am little. I am brown. I grow on a tree. I was in a cradle. Boys and girls like me. What am I?

This is a squirrel’s nest. It is in the top of a tree. Two squirrels are in the tree. One is the father squirrel. One is the mother squirrel. Baby squirrels are in the nest. They like to run and jump and play.

Two squirrels sat upon a hickory tree. One little squirrel said, “Run! I will catch you. Run round and round the tree.” The other little squirrel said, “Oh, what fun! Catch me if you can.”

Oh, you pretty squirrel! Come, little squirrel! Come to me. Here are some nuts for you. I like to see you eat a nut. Do not run away. Baby Sister has some nuts for you. Come and get the nuts. Go away, Rover! Go away! You can not catch the squirrel. Come and eat the nuts, little squirrel. Rover will not catch you.

Do you know how the farmer Plants his corn in the field? This is the way the farmer Plants his corn in the field.

Do you know how the farmer Reaps his corn in the field? This is the way the farmer Reaps his corn in the field.

Do you know how the farmer Takes his corn to the mill? This is the way the farmer Takes his corn to the mill.

Do you know how the miller Grinds his corn in the mill? This is the way the miller Grinds his corn in the mill.

This is a farmer. He is in his field. See the farmer plant the corn. The sun makes the corn grow. The rain makes the corn grow. The wind makes it grow. The corn will grow, and grow. By and by the farmer will reap the corn. Then he will take it to the mill.

ACTION SENTENCES

Play you are a farmer. Plant the corn. Reap the corn. Take the corn to the mill.

Do you know a farmer? What can a farmer do? Do you know a miller? What can a miller do? What can the rain do? What can the sun do? What can the wind do? Tell me what a clock can do. Do you know how to plant corn?

What have I? Is it a red ball? No. It is not a red ball. Is it a brown ball? No. It is not a brown ball. Is it a nut? Yes. It is a nut.

“It is time to plant the corn. You may help me, John,” said Father. “Come, we will go to the field.” “May I help you, Father?” said Helen. “I know how to plant corn.” “This is the corn field,” said Father. “Here is some corn, John. Here is some corn for you, Helen. This is the way to plant corn.”

Come, John, we will look at the corn. Is it time to reap the corn, Father? No, John. It is not time. Here is an ear of corn. You see it is not yellow. The sun will make it grow. The wind and rain will help. By and by it will be yellow. Then we will reap the corn.

The corn is yellow, John. Come to the field with me. We will reap the corn. Then we will take it to the mill. The miller will put it in the mill. The mill will grind the yellow corn.

Blow, wind! Blow! And go, mill! Go! That the miller may grind his corn; That the baker may take it, And into rolls make it, And send us some hot in the morn.

Wind, you blow, and blow, and blow. You blow the tree-top. You blow the boughs. You blow the little birds. You blow the corn in the field. You blow the windmill. I can not see you, wind. I can hear you. You sing a song. I will sing the wind song. This is the wind song. It is oo-oo-oo-oo-oo.

Clip-clap! Clip-clap! Hear the windmill! Go, mill! Go! Turn round and round. Clip-clap! Clip-clap! Look at the windmill. It is on a hill. Blow, wind! Blow! Blow the windmill. Turn it round and round. Grind the farmer’s corn. Grind it for the miller. Then the baker will take it. He will make it into rolls. He will send us some in the morning. Clip-clap! Clip-clap! Clip-clap!

Good morning, Grandpa. This is my windmill. See! I will blow on it. Then it will turn round. The wind makes it go. I will run with it. Then it will go fast. Go, little windmill! Go! Go round and round.

Grandpa made this kite for John. It is a big red kite. John’s kite will fly over the trees. Grandpa made a little kite for me. My kite is not red. It is yellow. Come with me to fly my kite. The wind will make it go up, up, up! Then it will fly away over the trees.

Look at John’s kite. See how high it can fly. Run, John! Run with the kite. Run as fast as you can. How the wind blows! See the kite go up, up, up! The wind blows it high over the tree-tops. Here it comes down, down, down!

Blow, wind! Blow! Blow my little yellow kite. Blow it high, high, high! Fly away, pretty kite. Fly away to the hill-top. Come down again, little kite. Oh, what fun to fly a kite!

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man, Bake me a cake just as fast as you can. Roll it and pat it and mark it with B. Bake it and brown it for Baby and me.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, Baby dear. Make Sister a little cake. Roll it and pat it, Baby. Roll it as fast as you can. Mark it with B, Baby. Bake the cake, baker’s man. Bake it for Baby and me. Bake it and brown it. Then Baby and I will eat it.

ACTION SENTENCES

Play pat-a-cake. Roll the cake. Pat the cake. Mark the cake with B. Bake the cake. Eat the cake.

“You may help make the rolls, Mary. See! This is the way to roll them.” “What fun to make rolls!” said Mary. “Look, Mother! One, two, three. Here are three rolls. This one is for Father. This one is for John. This one is for you, Mother dear.”

In the morning Mother said, “It is time to bake the rolls. By and by the rolls will be brown. Look at the clock, Mary.” “Tick-tock! Tick-tock!” said the clock. “The rolls are brown,” said Mary. “May I call Father and John? Come, Father! Come, John! Here are some hot rolls, Mother and I made them for you.”

Plant, farmer! Plant the corn. Grind, miller! Grind the corn. Come, baker! Bake me a cake. See, mother! The baker made me a cake.

I have a little sister, They call her “Peep-peep!” She wades in the water Deep, deep, deep. She climbs up the hillside, High, high, high. Poor little sister Has but one eye.

Dear little Baby, go to sleep. Mother will sing you to sleep. Rock-a-by! Rock-a-by! Sleep, pretty Baby! Sleep! Dear little birds, go to sleep. Up so high! Up so high! The wind will rock you to sleep. Rock-a-by! Rock-a-by!

I am a star. They call me “Peep-peep!” I peep into Baby’s cradle. Baby is fast asleep. I peep into the little nests. The pretty birds are asleep. They are asleep, Baby and birds.

One hot morning Mary said, “Mother, may I wade in the water?” “Yes, the water is not deep.” “May Baby Sister wade, too? She likes to play in the water.” “Baby Sister is too little. Take Rover with you. He likes to play in the water.”

Here, Rover! Come, Rover! I am going to wade in the water. You may come with me, Rover. Mary went down to the water. Rover and Pussy went with her. Do you know what they saw? They saw a frog.

Rover said, “Bow-wow!” Pussy Cat said, “Meow! Meow!” Mary said, “Oh, oh! Who are you? Will you play with me, little frog? Here is a fly for you. Come and get the fly. Rover will not catch you. Pussy will not catch you. Do not go away, little frog.”

The rain is raining all around, It falls on field and tree, It rains on the umbrellas here, And on the ships at sea.

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! Hear the song of the rain. Pit-pat! Pit-pat! Pit-pat! This is what it sings. I rain on the corn to help the farmer. I rain on the grass to make it green. I rain on the tree to make it grow. I rain on the ship away out at sea. I rain on the umbrellas. I rain all around. Pit-pat! Pit-pat! Pit-pat! Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

See Robin Redbreast. He is up in a tree. It is raining all around. The rain falls on the farmer’s field. It falls on the green corn. It falls on the trees. But it can not rain on Robin. Robin has some little umbrellas. The little umbrellas keep Robin dry. Can you see Robin’s umbrellas?

One day it was raining. Mary was at Grandma’s house. “It is time for you to go,” said Grandma. “Here is Grandpa’s umbrella.” “Oh! What a big umbrella! I like the rain, Grandma. See! It is raining all around. But it can not rain on me. It falls on this big umbrella.”

Thank you, pretty cow that made Pleasant milk to soak my bread, Every day and every night, Warm, and sweet, and pure, and white.

Good morning, big white cow. I see you in the pleasant field. The grass is sweet and green. Baby and I have some grass for you. Come and get the sweet green grass. We like you, big white cow. Every day we have milk to drink. It is sweet and pure and white. Thank you, good cow, for milk to drink.

Look, Mother! Look! See my little white kitty. Kitty says, “Meow! Meow!” Come, little white kitty. Here is some milk for you. The milk is warm and sweet. Drink the milk, little white kitty.

Thank you, farmer, for the field. The grass is sweet and green. My pretty cow likes the sweet grass.

Thank you, good cow, for milk. It is sweet, and pure, and white. Dear little baby drinks your milk.

Thank you, baker, for the bread. Every morning you send us rolls. I like to eat bread and milk.

Thank you, too, dear Mother. Every day you do pleasant things. We love you, Mother dear.

Churn! Churn! Churn! Up and down! Up and down! Take the yellow cream. Put it in the churn. Churn it and churn it. Churn it up and down. This is the way to make butter. Take it out of the churn. Pat it and pat it. Pat it this way and that. Roll it and roll it. Roll it round and round. B is for butter. Mark it with B. Here is a roll of butter.

Once I saw a little bird Come hop, hop, hop. So I said, “Little bird, Will you stop, stop, stop?” And was going to the window To say “How do you do?” But he shook his little tail, And far away he flew.

Mary loves her pretty doves. They fly down to her. See! They are all around her. Mary has some corn for her doves. “Coo-coo! Coo-coo! How do you do?” say the doves. Come, pretty doves! Come. Here is some corn for you. Come and eat the corn. Dear little Cream White, come to me. I have some corn for you. “Coo-coo! Coo-coo!” she said. “I thank you.”

Here are some little friends. The friends stop and bow. One little friend says, “How do you do?” The other little friend says, “How do you do?” Then all the little friends say, “How do you do?”

I see two little windows of brown. John looks out of the brown windows. I see two little windows of blue. Mary looks out of the blue windows. Can you see the windows? Have you two little windows? What are the windows named? Look out of your windows. Tell me what you see.

Make a bow. Bow to me. Bow to a friend. The boys may bow. The girls may bow.

Lady Moon, Lady Moon, Where are you roving? Over the sea. Lady Moon, Lady Moon, Whom are you loving? All that love me.