Part 5

At last the boy shouted, “Ring, Grandpa! Ring! Oh, ring for liberty!”

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

For two hours the old bell-man sent out the glad news. America was free!

This was the first Fourth of July.

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 SOLDIER BIRD.

One day, Chief Sky, an Indian, found an eagle’s nest with a baby eagle in it.

The Indian was poor, so he sold the eagle to a white man for some corn.

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

“Here is a new soldier,” he said.

“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.

“The bird of America! The eagle of freedom!” shouted the soldiers.

II

Old Abe was carried in front of the soldiers.

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.

The soldiers of the other army were very near. No one could leave the camp.

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.

Soon Tom came back with a good supper for his pet.

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.

In this pleasant home Old Abe lived a long and happy life.

THE CALICO’S STORY.

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

We lived in the warm South and were kept in a strong bag.

One morning the people who lived in the house were up very early.

I heard the master say, “Tom, you may plant that cotton seed to-day.”

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.

One day my coat burst and I came up out of the ground. Wasn’t I happy then!

I had a green body and two green leaves. I stretched my head higher and higher.

II

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.

“Come, children!” I heard some one call. “We must pick the cotton.”

And the children did come. They had woolly heads and shining eyes.

One little boy cried out, “Oh! Did you ever see prettier cotton?”

His little black fingers soon picked all my white cotton.

Next I was riding in a basket on Tom’s head.

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.

I was carried to a large house where I heard, “Buzz, buzz, buzz!”

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

At last I had become white cloth.

IV

Next I went through a printing-machine.

This machine sent me under a roller which left little red cherries all over me.

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

Prettier cherries you never saw!

After I left the roller I was dried, folded, and sent to a store in a city.

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.

THE YOUTHS’ COMPANION (_Adapted_).

AUGUST.

THE SIX LITTLE SEA-MAIDS.

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.

The sea-maids were very happy playing all day deep down in the water.

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.

II

The youngest sister wanted to see the world above more than any of her sisters.

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.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S “A Little Sea-maid” (_Adapted_).

THE SINGER AND THE CRICKET.

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.

First one and then another of the Mastersingers came forward and sang.

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 the city where he lived there stands a beautiful statue of the Mastersinger.

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.

Suggested by ROBERT BROWNING’S poem, “The Two Poets of Crosie.”

KING SOLOMON AND THE BEES.

King Solomon was the wisest man in the world.

One day a beautiful queen came to his castle.

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.”

Then the queen thought King Solomon the wisest man in the world.

Suggested by JOHN SAXE’S poem, “King Solomon and the Bees.”

THE LITTLE MAID OF THE LIGHTHOUSE.

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.

On summer mornings, she liked to go out on the rocks and see the sun rise.

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.

Sometimes she made chains of gold-colored shells to hang about her neck.

She liked to run into the green water in her bare feet. What fun it was!

She laughed, and sang, and danced about in the waves like a little sea-maid.

II

The winter seemed very long to the little maid in the lighthouse.

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.

Sometimes a sea-bird flew past, high in the sky.

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

When the first warm days of spring came, she made her garden.

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

Sometimes she made boats out of the pieces of wood on the shore.

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.

Celia Thaxter was the name of the little maid of the lighthouse.

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.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD MORNING.

A fair little girl sat under a tree Sewing as long as her eyes could see; Then she smoothed her work and folded it right, And said, “Dear work, good night! Good night!”

Such a number of rooks came over her head, Crying “Caw! Caw!” on their way to bed; She said as she watched their curious flight, “Little black things, good night! Good night!”

The horses neighed and the oxen lowed, The sheep’s “Bleat! Bleat!” came over the road; All seeming to say, with a quiet delight, “Good little girl, good night! Good night!”

She did not say to the sun, “Good night!” Though she saw him there like a ball of light; For she knew he had God’s time to keep All over the world, and never could sleep.

The tall pink fox-glove bowed his head, The violet curtsied and went to bed; And good little Lucy tied up her hair, And said on her knees her favorite prayer.

And while on her pillow she softly lay, She knew nothing more till again it was day; And all things said to the beautiful sun, “Good morning! Good morning! Our work is begun.”

LORD HOUGHTON.

WORD LIST

The following is a list of the words used in the Second Reader, omitting those previously used in the Primer and First Reader. They are grouped by pages, in the order in which they first occur.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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