4. A HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

1. But when she came to the back door at which she had come out, Mercy found a great trouble. She lifted the latch, but the door did not open.

2. She gave a pull, a second pull, and then a tug with all her might; but it still held fast. "Why," she thought, "I am as badly off as the donkey. I shall have to go into the pigsty with him!"

3. She had been out much longer than she thought. And while she had been taking care of Brownie her father had turned the big key in the door and gone to bed.

4. What was to be done? It wouldnever do to wake up poor tired father, and bring him out in the cold too. So she stood there trying to puzzle out some plan for getting in.

5. The bright moonlight showed her a way to do it. The cottage was a low one, and just under the window of the room where she and Nelly slept, was a bench.

6. Standing on tiptoe upon this, Mercy found that she could reach the branches of an old vine tree, which grew over the walls of the little house.

7. She could climb up into this, and so get near the bedroom window. It was easy enough to scramble up in summer time, but not so easy now.

8. The boughs were a sheet of ice, and her fingers so cold that they could hardly take hold of them. At last, after many slips and frights, she was safely up.

9. But what would little Nelly think of seeing her sister outside the window, asking to be let in, as their pussy cat often did?

10. She was sound asleep too, and had to be wakened by many hard taps at theglass. First, Nelly felt fear at seeing a face looking in at her.

11. But she soon knew who it was. "Oh Mercy," cried Nelly, "how long you have been! What have you been at? And why did you come back this way?"

12. "Get into bed again, there's a dear," said Mercy, "and I will tell you all about it." Nelly kept awake to listen, as Mercy told her the story.

13. And she could not help clapping her hands to think of how snug poor old Brownie was now. Mercy knelt down to say her prayers before she got into bed.

14. She felt very thankful that she had been able to do one kindness to a creature like that ass which once stood in the stall beside the "new-born King."

15. Next morning, as soon as the house was tidy, Mercy ran out to see the donkey. More snow had fallen in the night, and had filled up all her footmarks, so that she might have thought it all a dream.

16. But just as she reached the pigsty she heard a loud bray, which was Brownie'sway of saying "A Merry Christmas" to his friends.

17. "You did quite right, my child," said her father, when Mercy told him of her work the last night. "I think that Smith does not treat him well.

18. "And I will tell you what, children, I am going to-morrow to see Mr. Smith and buy our Brownie back again. I cannot get on without him, I find.

19. "Now that your mother is well again we shall do better, and last week I put by the money for Brownie. So you need never say good-bye to him again."

20. You may be sure that there was a happy Christmas at the cottage for Peter and his wife, and for the children, as well as for poor Brownie.

21. "How very glad I am that I went out to him that night!" said Mercy to her father. "It was not much to do, only it was Christmas Eve, and I thought—"

22. "You thought what?" said her father.

"Only," she said, in a low voice, "I could not forget that Christ let the ox andthe ass be with Him in the stable. And I thought that He would not be pleased if we left poor Brownie out in the cold."

Write:Mercy was forced to get in at the window. She got up by the vine tree. Her little sister let her in. Peter said he should buy the donkey back.

Questions: 1. What trouble did Mercy find at her door? 2. How did she get up to the window? 3. What was Nelly doing? 4. What did Peter say when his child told him what she had done for the donkey? 5. What did he say about Mr. Smith? 6. What did he mean to do for Brownie?

1. The first time that I ever used my wings was in flying from behind a red curtain. It was in a warm nice breakfast-room. The master of it was called Mr. Sutton.

2. I settled on a pretty white cap on the head of his wife. She was just making the tea, and her husband was sitting on the other side of the table.

3. "Well," said Mr. Sutton, "when I talk of lazy folks, of course I do not suppose that any person thinks himself idle.

4. "Some people think that so long asthey are doing something or other they are busy. I suppose that I am an idle old fellow myself, for spending time in reading the paper.

5. "The right thing to think is, have I been doing what is of any use, eh?" said the old man, pushing up his glasses and looking at his little grandchild.

6. "Have you done a single thing that is of any use this morning, Rose?" Rose hung her head for a moment. Then she lifted her face brightly, and said, "Only one little thing, grandpa."

7. "What was it, dear?"

"I am not quite sure that it was a real good thing," Rose went on, "but I found a poor little butterfly that had fallen into a pool in the garden, where the rain had come.

8. "Its wings were wet, and it could not fly up. So I took it up and put it in the sun on the wall, and soon it was well."

9. Mrs. Sutton looked at Rose in a loving way. "I am quite sure that it was a 'real good thing' if you are not," said the old lady. "And so that was partly why you were late?"

10. "Yes, granny."

"Well, the little butterfly is all the better, though you were the worse for having cold toast. But that is not much to bear for the sake of saving a little life, is it?"

11. And all this time I had been feasting on the sweet white lumps of sugar. No one took any notice of me, and so I went on, till one lump began to grow quite small.

12. "Look, here is a little house-fly!" said Rose. "He is standing quite still on a lump of sugar. What is he doing, granny?"

"He is eating it, dear."

"Can he bite it up?"

13. "Bite it up! No," said Mr. Sutton, putting down his paper and coming up to us. "The fly has no teeth, he has a trunk. He sends down some juice through his trunk on to the sugar.

14 "This juice melts it, and then he sucks it up again."

"How clever!" said Rose. "I wish he would let me touch him." And she put out one finger very softly towards me.

15. Now though I am a brave fly now, I could not bear at that time to see the hand of any person come near me. Though I would perch on the top of it, I did not like to be touched by it.

16. So I flew up in a great hurry, and pitched on some dark stuff which smelt like new hay, and which stood on the side table in a box. Rose did not see where I went. "Oh, how fast he went off!" she said.

Write:Rose saved the life of a butterfly. She found it in a little pool. She set it in the sun to dry its wings. It was a useful thing to do.

Questions: 1. What had Rose found in the garden? 2. What did she do for the little butterfly? 3. How did the fly eat sugar without any teeth? 4. What did Rose wish to do? 5. What did the fly think about being touched? 6. What did he do when he saw the hand of Rose near him?

1. "Now, granny," said Rose, when the breakfast was done, "I will not forget, to-day at least, to lock up the tea-caddy."

2. So she took up the sugar-basin, fitted it into a little place made for it inside the box where I sat, and, before I had any idea of what she was doing, she shut down the lid.

3. I was now, for the first time, left in the dark. And I began to think what a pleasant thing the sunshine was, and to wonder when I should be let out again.

4. But I must say that I found the sugar a great comfort. I went on eating it as long as I could. If I was to be locked up at all, I could not have been locked into a better place.

5. The sugar-basin was full and there were enough lumps in it to last a fly of my size all his life. But of course one might get tired of it, in time.

6. But I was not tired yet. So I ate and ate, until I began to feel my legs ache and my wings very heavy. Just then I heard a loud noise, and a light broke into my prison.

7. It was Rose turning the key in the lock and lifting the lid of the tea-caddy. "Oh, granny!" cried she, "here is a poor fly that can hardly move."

8. "I am afraid, dear, that the poor fly must thank himself for that," said Mrs. Sutton, looking closely at me. "He has been a little glutton, I fear, and has eaten so much sugar that he can hardly move."

9. "Poor little fellow," said Rose, "I will not hurt him. He shall go out of doors on to the cool grass and get well again.

10. "I dare say that, though he is not quite so pretty as a butterfly, he likes to be alive." So Rose took me up between her finger and thumb as gently as she could, but oh, what great big hands they seemed to me!

11. And my poor sides were pinched black and blue. That is the reason why I cannot bear one of the great hands which belong to men and women to catch hold of me.

12. You see we tiny flies are made so lightly, and we are so small. A mere touch will crush our dainty wings, or break our slender legs, or hurt our eyes.

13. How thankful I am that we have eyes that can see behind and all round us as well as in front!

14. We are able to get away, thanks to these eyes, when we see a great hand coming to catch us. Even a baby's hand seems like that of a giant to us.

ROSE DID HER BEST FOR ME.ROSE DID HER BEST FOR ME.

15. But dear Rose did her best for me, and put me in a spoon to carry. At the same time I did wish that the sugar had not been quite so nice, and that I had not taken so much of it.

16. The fresh air of the garden, the sunshine, and the flowers did me a great deal of good, after being shut up in the tea-caddy. At night I slept in a lily bell.

Write:The fly was shut into a tea-caddy by mistake. He ate so much sugar that he could hardly fly. Rose put him out of doors to get well.

Questions: 1. What did Rose do after breakfast? 2. What did the fly do inside the tea-caddy? 3. What did Rose say when she opened it again? 4. What did her grandmother say? 5. What did Rose do for the fly? 6. Why does not the fly like to be touched?

1. The next morning I flew in at the window. Rose had soon done her breakfast, and she locked up the caddy again, with me outside this time.

2. Though I did not fancy any sweets on that morning, I saw something in a small jug on the table which I thought looked even nicer. It was yellow and rather thick.

3. I went down to see what sort of stuff it was. It could not hurt me, at any rate, to dip one of my feet in, or the tip of my trunk, and see whether cream was better and more wholesome than sugar.

SOMETHING IN A SMALL JUG.SOMETHING IN A SMALL JUG.

4. I slid with care down the sides of the jug, holding firmly on with the little soles of my feet, which, I am thankful to say,have suckers on them which make it easy for me to run where I like without falling.

5. I tasted cream for the first time In my life. What a happy moment it was! I tasted it a second time, a third, and a fourth time, and after that I became so greedy for more that I lost my balance and in I went plump!

6. At first I kicked about as hard as I could, and tried to keep my wings clear. But they soon got cold, and stuck to my sides.

7. And then I could only go round and round the place, looking with despair at the steep sides of the cream-jug, which seemed far larger and steeper than they had done before my sad mishap.

8. I was growing tired of the struggle, my body began to sink in the cream, and even my eyes were dimmed by it, so that I could hardly see where I was going.

9. Thomas the servant came in to take away the breakfast things, and the jolt he gave the cream-jug in moving it closer to the tea-pot nearly drowned me. I was half dead.

10. But Rose was again my friend, though she did not mean to do what she then did. Rushing into the room to fetch a book which she had left on the window seat, she ran against Thomas, and pushed his elbow.

11. This jerked the cream-jug so that it upset and I was upset with it. I felt myself crawling along in a great white flood over the table-cloth, but still I had land under my feet.

12. "My dear Rose," said Mrs. Sutton, "how often I have begged you not to rush into the room in that rough way. You nearly knocked down Thomas, and see how his sleeve is messed with greasy cream!"

13. "I am very sorry, granny," said Rose, "but I forgot this book, and Miss Bush is waiting."

"I am sorry too," said Mrs. Sutton, "and so is Thomas, I dare say."

Write:The fly wished to taste cream. He fell into the jug and was nearly drowned. Rose pushed the servant, the jug upset, and the fly crawled out.

Questions: 1. What did the fly wish to taste next? 2. What had he on his feet which helped him to walk? 3. What became of him after the fourth sip of cream? 4. Who came into the room to fetch the breakfast things? 5. Who came in next? 6. What happened to the cream-jug and to the fly?

1. Rose had to go away, to finish her lessons, and Thomas also went out of the room to get a cloth to wipe up the spilt cream.

2. I was in danger of being swept away by this, but, just as Rose was going out at the door, she saw me still in the midst of the cream.

3. In an instant I found myself nearly drowned again in a spoonful of it, and the next moment I was again placed on the grass of the lawn.

4. Rose had scooped me up in the spoon and carried me there. I really think that she had a liking for me. How thankful I felt to be in the grass!

5. I hid myself under a daisy flower and took a good rest, for I felt very tired after my struggles. A good shower of rain cameon, and I was quite glad to hear it patter on the leaves.

6. For I still felt a trifle sticky, and was glad to get my legs moist, so that I might wash myself all the better. At this time the sun was so warm, that I lived out of doors for some days.

7. I think that three days passed before I sat again on the white cap of Mrs. Sutton. But one morning, when she satat the open window, I thought I should like to pay my old friend a visit.

8. It was breakfast time again. Mr. Sutton was reading the paper through his new glasses, and Rose was busy eating her breakfast.

9. As I had had nothing but a few tastes of dew, and such small meals as were to be had from the flowers, for three days, I was rather hungry.

10. I thought that Rose would spare me a bit of what was on her plate. But, as I was on the way to it, I had to pass a pot of something which had a better smell than what she was then eating.

11. It was honey. It made me forget all about Rose, and her bread and butter. I pitched on the honey-pot, and began to feast as hard as I could.

12. But before I had eaten much, I saw Rose take some and spread it on a piece of bread. At the same moment Mrs. Sutton rose and put the honey into a cupboard.

13. "The flies will get at this, if it is left without a cover," she said. "I cannotthink why Thomas has brought it in to table without one."

14. Now I thought this a most unkind speech. They were all eating twenty times as much as I could do in a week at each mouthful. Yet the honey was put into a dark cupboard out of my reach!

Write:The fly was glad to clean his wings and legs. He came back to the room and sat on the cap of the old lady. He was pleased to get some honey.

Questions: 1. What did Rose do for the fly in the cream? 2. What did the fly do in the garden? 3. What did the fly find on the breakfast-table? 4. Where did he pitch next? 5. What did the old lady do with the honey-pot? 6. What did the fly think of what she said?

1. This vexed me, I must say, so I went and buzzed against the window panes for a little while, to see if that would do me any good.

2. At the end of that time I heard Rose say, "Granny, I do not want this breadand honey now. May I keep it for my lunch?"

3. "Yes, dear," said her granny. It seemed a wonder to me that Rose should wish to leave her bread and honey till some hours later, when she might have had it at once.

4. Mr. Sutton got up and went away to his study. His wife rose too, and she told Rose to put the plate of bread and honey on the sideboard, that Thomas might take it away till lunch time.

5. But Rose forgot to tell Thomas, and he did not seem to see the plate, so there the tempting dish was left all the morning. The sun began to shine upon it, and I sniffed and sniffed many times.

6. At last I left the white cap where I was sitting, and went towards it. I settled upon something far nicer now than either sugar or cream. I sipped and sucked away for some time.

7. At last I thought that I had eaten enough and had better tear myself away before I had taken more than was good for me. But, to my horror, I found thatwhen I tried to lift up my legs I could not stir them!

8. In my other troubles I had at least been able to move a little. I could climb up and down the mountains of sugar, and I could swim about in the ocean of cream.

9. But now I was fixed fast, either to be eaten by Rose without her knowing it, or to die a wretched death in the kitchen if she did not choose to finish me off.

10. I had never thought very much of my out-door cousins, the bees. It seemed to me that they made a great fuss and took a lot of trouble for nothing, in making honey for men and women to take away.

11. How much better to eat it straight from the flowers! And now I thought worse of the bees than ever, because I was sticking fast in their stuff.

12. I tried in vain to drag out one front leg after the other, and next my middle and back legs. It was just as a man would feel if he were stuck in a bog.

13. The sound of the lunch bell went to my heart. The sight of the nice bread and honey, which Rose had left at breakfast,would be sure to make her feel hungry. She very soon saw me!

Write:The fly stood on a plate of bread and honey. He stuck fast and felt as a man might do in a bog. Rose took him out and set him free.

Questions: 1. What did Rose do with her bread and honey? 2. What did the fly do when he smelt it? 3. What happened to him when he settled on the honey? 4. What did he try to do in vain? 5. What did he soon hear? 6. What did Rose very soon see when she came to lunch?

1. I feel sure that she did not know me, for she cried out, "Oh, granny! here is a nasty fly on my bread and honey. I dare say that the horrid thing has been crawling all over it!

2. "I wish a spider would come and catch it!" went on Rose, quite crossly, "for I do not like to kill it myself!" And here she gave me a little poke with a fork. But not hard enough to hurt me.

3. "Why, Rose, what is the matter?" said her granny. "I thought that you were fond of the little, busy, useful flies that come to dance and play in the house?"

4. "Well, I cannot see what good they do," said Rose, "getting into the cream and sticking on to the bread and honey." Something had put little Rose out of temper. But I felt sure it would not last long.

5. "I wish he would not get on to my plate," said she, bending down her face to hide it, for she began to feel ashamed. "But I will not hurt him."

6. And she took one of her granny's knitting needles in her hand. I shook with fear when I saw this great spear coming; but Rose used it in a most gentle and kind way.

7. She lifted my body out after setting my legs free, and though I felt strained and tired after it, I left nothing behind me, no, not even any of the brushes and combs on my feet.

8. "I will put him out into the garden," said she. But, as my wings had got no honeyon them, I saved her the trouble, by flying away.

9. If Rose had only known half the trouble I had in washing my feet after the honey, she would have been ready to forgive me for tasting her lunch.

10. "I am glad you did not go on feeling cross with the poor little fly, Rose," said Mrs. Sutton. "We should miss them much if we had none, for they help to keep our houses sweet and clean.

11. "No maid with her broom could get at all the tiny cracks and corners where the flies go. The eyes of no woman in the world could see what the fly can.

12. "Do you know that his round ball of eye is made up of many hundreds of bits, and that each bit can see a new way?"

13. Rose clapped her hands. "Then can the fly see a hundred ways at once?" said she. "Oh, how I wish I could do that!"

14. "You can move your eyes about," said her granny, "which does just as well. The fly cannot move his. And you would not like to be born in the kitchen sink, would you?"

15. "Is that where flies are born?" said Rose, drawing near to her granny and looking into her face.

16. "Yes," said Mrs. Button, "the fly is born in a sink, or in any place where dirty stuff is found. The young flies eat the dirty stuff and get rid of it. I will tell you some day how the little things come into the world."

Write:After being set free from the honey the fly went off. He cleaned his legs and went back to the old lady. She told Rose that flies were of great use.

Questions: 1. What did Rose use to lift the fly up? 2. In what way did she use the knitting-needle? 3. What did the fly feel when he saw the knitting-needle coming? 4. What can the fly do to keep a house clean? 5. What sort of eye has the fly? 6. Tell me where flies are born?

1. "Could you not tell me now?" said Rose, for she wanted to hear about the little flies. And I too felt very glad to hear more about my childhood. So I sat still to listen.

2. "Perhaps you think that the child of a fly looks just like itself; only smaller," said Mrs. Sutton. "But the house-fly lays a great many little eggs.

3. "She finds some old dirty rubbish, like rotten cabbage or stuff that is left by careless cooks lying about. In this she puts her eggs, and then she dies. Little grubs are born from them.

4. "They begin to eat as soon as they are born, and very soon they turn into flies, after going to sleep for a while first in a kind of little hard skin or shell. They change into flies while they are inside this shell."

5. "What do the flies do when they cannot find any dirty rubbish?" said Rose.

"Then they go to look for it in other places," said her granny. "So you see, if we do not wish to have flies in our houses we must have no rubbish."

6. "Then the flies are little servants to us, granny?"

"Yes, to be sure."

"I wish I could see a baby-fly," said Rose.

7. "You would not think it at all pretty,"said Mrs. Sutton. "It is a whitish maggot. But some ugly looking things are very useful to us."

"I like pretty things best," said Rose.

8. "Well, the fly is pretty enough when he is grown up. He has to wait, you see." I was pleased to hear the kind old lady say this, and I nodded my head and washed my face with my feet.

9. "And so it is your birthday on Monday, Rose," went on her granny. "And I suppose it is time to be thinking about the party and the fun we are to have?"

10. Rose looked up, beaming with delight at these words. Though she had not been born as a grub in a sink, I thought that she looked pretty too.

11. "We must get Miss Bush to write the letters for us, Rose, and ask the little girls, and boys to come and spend the day with you. Run now and see if she will be so good as to do it now."

"Oh, very well," said Rose. And she went out with a skip.

Write:A house-fly is born in the sink.The egg from which it comes is laid in dirt and rubbish. The grub which creeps out eats up the dirty stuff.

Questions: 1. Where does the house-fly lay its eggs? 2. What are the young flies like at first? 3. What do they do as soon as they are born? 4. What do they eat? 6. If we do not wish to have many flies, what must we do? 6. What treat was Rose going to have?

1. I heard a little girl say, "Oh, Rose, there is a fly in your glass of wine."

"Poor thing!" said the little girl next her, "take it out!"

"No, no!" said her brother; "let it alone. Let us see how he swims."

2. All this time I felt very bad. I was drowning, yet this boy could look on and talk like that.

3. Something seemed to take away all my breath and strength. I heard the boy say, "If I fell into a pond I could not swim so well."

4. "Why, no," said Rose, "the fly has not a coat and trousers, as you have. ButI do not think it is fun to see him drowning, so I will take him out." And she pushed the handle of a spoon with care under me.

5. I could hardly crawl when I got on to the table-cloth. She saw it and placed me on a green laurel leaf outside. I sat there half dead, and yet I heard what they were all saying inside the summer-house.

6. "Lucy," said Rose to the little girl, "you would have been glad if you couldhave been lifted out like that poor fly, when you fell into the pond at home, would you not?

7. "You went to the bottom before any person came to help you. Were you in a great fright? How did you feel?"

8. "Why," said Lucy, "I was in a great fright when I first fell in, but after that I think that I must have been asleep, for I forgot it all. I knew nothing after my tumble down the bank, till I heard my mother near me.

9. "She was saying, 'God bless you, darling,' and then I found myself lying in bed."

"Ah," said her brother Tom, "Neptune, our dog, had a famous supper that night."

10. "Why?" asked a little boy, from the other end of the table.

"Oh, did you not know that it was Neptune who pulled my sister out of the water?" said Tom.

11. "He saw her go in, and without being told, he got her out. She would have been drowned without him. She had been told not to go near the pond, butshe ran down to it, without leave, when no one was looking."

12. The other little girl here grew very red. "You need not have said that, Tom," said she. But Tom was a bit of a tease. He only laughed and said that his sister was always doing what she was told not.

Write:Rose took the fly out of her glass. She put him on a leaf to get dry. Tom told them about his big dog. It saved the life of Lucy.

Questions: 1. What did Rose do for the fly in her glass? 2. What did the dog do for Lucy? 3. What did Tom say that his dog could do? 4. What else would he bring out from the bottom? 5. What did Neptune have on the night when he saved Lucy's life?

1. I did not feel much desire to taste any food next morning. The long swim on the day before had taken away my wish for eating and drinking.

2. I nearly flew down to the flower which Rose had put in water, but I changedmy mind. On the whole I prefer the smell of jam to that of roses.

3. I felt that a little walk would do me good, so I went round the tray once or twice, and then I tried to do the same thing on the tea-urn, but it was too hot for my feet.

4. I left that quickly enough, and after running across the toast on Mr. Sutton's plate, and crawling up his paper, only to be driven away, I went to the window.

5. Here I was so lucky as to meet a few of my friends, and we had a little dance in the sunshine, which quite brought back my health and spirits.

6. The day thus passed by, and it was very warm indeed later on. After tea Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were seated in the drawing-room, one on each side of a little table, with a candle between them.

7. The old lady was knitting, and her husband was reading aloud the paper to her. I think he was reading to amuse himself more than his wife.

8. I could feel, as I sat on her cap, that her head was nodding now and then, as ifshe were dozing. Mr. Sutton at last saw this. And laying down the paper he said, two or three times, "You are sleepy, my dear."

9. Each time that he said this, granny woke up, sat very upright, and said, "Oh no, not at all, my love." But she went off again to sleep as soon as the reading began.

10. At length she was in so sound a nap that she did not notice when Mr. Sutton put down the paper, after reading a long, dull account of something or other.

11. He took off his glasses, laid them on the folded paper, and saying something to himself about resting his eyes, fell fast asleep too.

12. Granny's head now nodded lower and lower. First she gave a nod, and then her husband gave a bow, just as if they were being most polite to each other in their sleep.

13. Her cap was very near the wax candle once or twice, and there was a smell of burning. She now began to nod sideways, and each time that she did sothere was a great smoke and a frizzling noise.

Write:Rose went to spend the day with Lucy. The fly sat on the cap of the old lady. She fell asleep and the cap caught on fire.

Questions: 1. Where did Rose go? 2. Where did the fly stay? 3. What were Mr. and Mrs. Sutton doing that evening? 4. What did Mr. Sutton say when his wife's head nodded? 5. What did he do himself? 6. What happened to the old lady's cap?

1. I was afraid of losing my perch, her nice white cap, on which I had now grown to feel quite at home. It seemed as if it were turning into ashes like those in the grate, and it felt too hot.

2. I flew up, for I could sit there no longer. And then I pitched on the top of Mr. Sutton's head, just in the bald place, and stamped with one foot as hard as I could.

3. I also ran about and tickled him a good deal. He woke up in a great hurry,for he raised his hand to drive me away, and in doing so, gave himself a smart tap.

4. This roused him. And he awoke just in time to save the cap and the hair of his wife from being in a blaze of fire.

5. "Dear, dear, dear!" said he. "Why, my love, what an escape you have had!"

"Nonsense, my dear," said the old lady, "I have not been asleep, I assure you." But it was of no use for her to say and think this.

6. There was the burnt cap on her head. "I was not quite asleep," said she. "Oh no, neither was I," said her husband, laughing.

7. And then, looking grave, he said, "You were in great danger though, my dear. I read only a day or two ago, of an old lady who had been burnt to death from setting her cap on fire."

8. I had been in great danger too, though no one seemed to think of that. What between the flames, and the knock that Mr. Sutton aimed at me, I might have been killed.

9. Thomas was now heard coming up thegravel walk. He had been sent to fetch Rose home. She was full of news to tell, about all the things she had seen and heard that day.

10. "It is a great mercy, my dear, that you have a bit of your granny left," said Mr. Sutton. "If it had not been for a fly, which tickled the top of my head, your granny's cap would have been on fire."

11. "Well, well, Mr. Sutton," said the old lady, who, somehow or other, did not seem to like hearing about the cap being on fire.

12. "You see here I am, without even being singed. And I was not half so sound asleep as you were, my dear. Depend upon it I am too old and too wise to let my cap catch fire."

13. Mr. Sutton did not say any more about the cap, since it seemed to vex his wife.

"Ah," said Rose, "if I had been at home you would not both have fallen asleep."

14. "That is very likely," said granny,smiling. "Well, and how did you enjoy yourself?" Rose said that she had been very happy.

15. She had seen Neptune dive, and she had been drenched by the shaking which the big doggie gave himself when he came out of the water.

Write:The fly pitched on the head of the old man. He gave a stamp with his foot to wake him up. The old man put out the fire.

Questions: 1. Where did the fly pitch on leaving the cap? 2. What did he do to the old man's head? 3. What did Mr. Sutton do when he woke up? 4. What did he say to his wife? 5. Who came home with Thomas? 6. What sort of day had Rose spent?

1. "What shall I look at next?" said Rose, who had a glass thing in her hand, next day. "Oh, this fly!"

2. The lunch was on the table, and I was just making a hearty meal on a pat of butter. I knew that Rose would not hurt me. So I stood quite still.

3. "How very strange!" said the little girl. "He looks as big as a horse. His wings are like shining lace, and he has hairy brushes on his feet.

4. "Now he is cleaning his head with one of them. I am glad that flies are not really so big as he seems now.

5. "What a buzzing we should have, and what should we do when such huge things flew about the room or walked on the ceiling!

6. "There would be no room for us to move, and the house would be too small. Fancy having such a creature as this fly looks now jumping and prancing over one's bread and jam!"

7. I was not pleased with this speech; I knew that my colour was rather dingy, but I had always thought my shape to be light and graceful, and this Rose had taken no notice of.

8. Neither had she so much as looked at my trunk, of which I am truly proud. So I flew away in a pet from under the glass, and settled on the loaf in the middle of the table, out of her reach.

9. "But for you, dear grand-father, I should never have thought such tiny creatures worth taking any notice of. Why, they are made just as well as big ones, or better."

WHAT SHALL I LOOK AT NEXT?WHAT SHALL I LOOK AT NEXT?

10. "Not better, dear, but quite as well. They are all the work of God's hand, and so all must be alike good. Do you know that you owe the pretty crimson sash that you have on to a very little creature?"

11. "Oh yes, the silkworm," said Rose.

"Yes, and the red colour was made fromthe dead body of an insect too. There is a sort of blight which gives this red colour after it is dead.

12. "Merchants bring them from abroad, after they have been taken from the plants on which they live. As they kill the coffee plants they must be swept off, and they are made into dye."

13. Grand-father would have said much more, but just then Rose saw Tom and Lucy walking up the lawn to the open window.

14. Behind them walked gravely Neptune the dog, with his master's stick in his mouth, which he thought it a great honour to carry.

Write:Rose saw the fly through her glass. She felt glad that the fly was not so big as he looked then. He was as well made as if he were large.

Questions: 1. What did Rose look at through her glass? 2. What did she think about the fly? 3. What did Mr. Sutton say about great and little creatures? 4. Whom did Rose see in the garden? 5. Who walked behind carrying his master's stick?

1. About this time I began to feel a chill in the air. I did not like this, for it made me feel drowsy. So I kept in the warmth of the drawing-room all day.

2. But I was shocked to see that many of my friends began to get quite unfit to run or fly about. Their wings seemed heavy, and some of them crept into holes where they went to sleep.

3. One day I went down to the table and found one of the gayest flies I had ever known, lying on his back upon the cloth.

4. He was cold and stiff. Nearly all the friends I had made that summer were dying or dead around me, or else they had crept into corners out of sight.

5. I knew that something must be done, or I too should one day be found lying on my back with my legs in the air, and Thomas would sweep me away, as he did the other flies.

6. I made up my mind to choose the best place I could, and there seemed none better than the old red curtain from which I had first come out into that pleasant room.

7. I therefore ran about on the wall behind it for some time, looking for a proper hole. I found just the nook I wanted, where a bit of the wall paper was peeling off.

8. I had hardly crept into it when I was fast asleep. To my good sense and quickness I owe my life. If I had not been a clever fly, I should have died, I dare say, like the rest.

9. As it is, here I am, alive and merry. When I woke the next warm spring day, there was little Rose and Mr. and Mrs. Sutton sitting at breakfast just as they had done when first I saw them.

10. Rose was perhaps a little taller, and the bald place on her grand-father's head may have been a wee bit wider.

11. But the jam was just as good, the honey and sugar as sweet, and the white cap just as clean and nice to sit on. Theflowers in the garden, too, smell as fresh as ever—still I prefer the jam.

12. If I might say one word at parting, it would be this. Do not forget that there is room in this big wide world for a poor little fly as well as for boys and girls.

13. And if you enjoy life and like a good game at play,—why, so do we! So let us have our harmless games and do our tiny bit of work for you in peace.

Write:As soon as it felt cold the fly went to sleep. He did not wake up till the next spring. There is room in the world for flies as well as for boys and girls.

Questions: 1. What did the fly now begin to feel? 2. What did he see on the table? 3. Where did he hide himself? 4. When did he wake from his sleep? 5. What change did he see in Rose? 6. What does the fly say as a parting word?

1. There was once a young hen. She had led a very quiet life in a village until she was nearly one year old. Then, all at once, she found that people began to make a great fuss about her.

2. You will never guess why, and so, as I think you may like to hear all about her, I will begin at once and tell you. Betty,—that was the name of this hen,—was one of ten fluffy little yellow chicks.

3. She was dressed in soft bright down when she first crept out of her egg-shell. She had a sharp beak and bright clever black eyes.

4. One morning, as her mother was strutting about the yard with all her children behind her, crying "cluck, cluck!" as she scratched up bits for them among the straw, Gip, the little pet dog, ran up.

5. He was only a puppy, and he meant nothing but play. Perhaps he mistook the small round chicks for a lot of little balls rolling about. At any rate he snatched up Betty, who was the finest of them, in his mouth.

THE FARMYARD.THE FARMYARD.

6. With a roguish look at their fat old mother, he began to scamper off with her. "Cackle, cackle!" screamed the old hen. "Put the baby down this moment, sir!" And the mother flew at Gip before he had gone six yards.

7. She jumped upon his back, and began to flap his head with her wings as hard as she could, while she made digs at his back with her beak.

8. The pretty dog, finding himself treated in this way, soon dropped the chicken out of his mouth. Little Betty rolled out from between his white teeth and fell flop! to the ground.

9. She was not a bit hurt, for she toddled back to join her brothers and sisters, who were all crying "peep! peep!" in a great fright. They were afraid of seeing her eaten up alive.

10. But though her child was none the worse, the mother-hen began to batter and beat poor Gip as if he had maimed it for life. And she never forgave the little dog after that day.

11. When she saw him coming, even at a distance, she pushed out her head, stuck all her feathers on end, and spread out her tail like a bush.

12. Perhaps it was the dreadful fright which Betty felt while she was in the jaws of Gip, which made her so grave andthoughtful a chicken as she soon became. She walked better than the rest.

13. She held herself upright, and her mother was never heard to say, "heads up!" as she did to the other chickens. Her mistress said one morning that Betty was "the pride of the brood."

14. Her two brothers were very greedy chickens, I am sorry to say. And as they grew older, they began to fight sadly for each worm or grain of corn which they found.

15. Though Betty and the rest of the chickens grew up white as snow, one of these young cocks had a speckled breast, and the other had two black feathers in his tail. This spoilt their look.

16. They were both taken away one day by a strange man, in spite of all that their mother could say. She bustled up and tried to rescue her sons. Although they were both in the habit of eating too much, she loved them in spite of all.

Write:A little chick was picked up by a puppy. He did not kill it, but put itdown when the hen came after him. The chicken was not hurt.

Questions: 1. How many brothers and sisters had Betty? 2. What did the puppy do one day? 3. What did the old hen do? 4. What did Betty's mistress call her? 5. What sort of chickens were the two brothers? 6. What became of them?

1. Time passed on, and Betty grew fast in size and beauty. Her mistress made up her mind to send her to the Poultry Show at the Crystal Palace.

2. The cook and all who saw her said that Betty ought to go, her beauty was so great. She was quite a perfect pattern of what a white hen of her sort ought to be.

3. She would be certain to win a first prize of the first class, they all thought. Poor Betty! From the day that it was settled for her to go to the Poultry Show her troubles began.

4. When first it was made known in the yard she became rather vain, in spite of all that her mother could say. Thefact was that the old hen felt proud of it herself, and Betty knew it.

5. She would be always pluming the feathers of her daughter, cackling loudly, and calling to strange chickens to come and admire the lovely back and smooth wings of her child.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!

6. The young cocks from next door sat on the railings to chatter, and evenforgot to quarrel. They stared at Miss Betty as she walked with her beak in the air, and they made rude remarks.

7. "Why don't you grow a pair of spurs and learn to crow?" they called out. When Mrs. Dorking, Betty's mother, heard these speeches from the young cocks she flew into a great passion.

8. "I will set the dog at you, you young scamps, if you do not be off this moment," cried she. So they dropped off one by one, for they did not know that the old hen was not able to carry out her threat.

9. As Betty became vain she became idle too. Instead of making her mother and sisters happy with her pretty playful ways, and making herself useful and pleasant at home, she grew pettish.

10. And instead of working to help earn her own living, by catching flies, scratching up worms, and watching under the old oak tree for cock-chafers, she would lose patience, and call loudly to the cook to bring her food.

11. And, strange to say, the cook would come too, and, not content with waitingon Betty, would drive away each fowl and chick that came up to share what she had brought.

12. She let none of them have a bit till Betty had eaten all that she pleased. Was not this enough to spoil any young hen? Betty was fast getting pert. All this was because of her good looks and her five toes.

13. You will see after a while that she would have been more happy if she had been born ugly, or with four toes, like her sisters.

Write:Betty was to go to a show. She grew vain when she heard this. And as she became vain she grew idle too. She was spoilt.

Questions: 1. Where did Betty's mistress think of sending her? 2. What did they all think that she would get at the show? 3. What made her grow proud? 4. What did she do instead of earning her living? 5. What did the young cocks say? 6. What answer did the old hen make to them?

1. After a little more time had passed, Betty was taken out of the yard. They did not let her stay with her sisters and the other fowls any longer, but she was placed in a large room by herself.

2. Here she was fed on all sorts of dainties. She had chestnuts, minced liver, new milk, and fresh lettuce. Life was now a feast to Betty, but she found it rather dull.

3. "I would rather have one worm or a spider," said she, with a sigh. How she longed for a good scamper with her sisters! "I am sure that we should never squabble now," said the poor, lonely little thing.

4. But this time alone did not last long. One morning a worse thing was done to her. She was taken by the cook and plunged into a warm bath. It was not of the least use for her to kick and scream.

5. The cook did not care. She rubbed Betty gently with a soaped flannel, talking to her in a soothing way all the time, and then set her down before the fire to dry.

6. But Betty's fright was soon over, and she was not at all hurt, of course. Yet she might have caught her death of cold, and all this because of the show! that her feathers might look fine.

A WARM BATH.A WARM BATH.

7. If the cook had let Betty alone to clean them, she would have done it better. The soap was bad for them, so was the water.

8. Betty felt very pleased when the cook went to call all the other servants. She wished them to admire the snowy whiteness of her feathers. "If she doesnot win a first prize I will eat my head!" said the cook.

9. "You will have a fine big meal, then," said the housemaid, "and I should not wonder if you have not spoilt her feathers for ever by washing them. You never ought to have done it, and the poor thing may get ill."

10. But thanks to the care taken of her, Betty did not get ill, though the nasty soap made her feel sick; and the cook saw that she had made a mistake in washing Betty.

11. "All creatures can clean themselves," said the housemaid, "leastways all birds can, at any rate, and we do harm by meddling."

12. "I think we ought to keep her under a wash-tub or in a basket until the day for the show," said the cook. "She will be sure to get dirty again in that barn."

13. When a nice new hen-coop was turned over her, Betty began to think about her mother. "What a horrid time she must have spent when we were little,and she had to stay in a coop!" said the young hen to herself.

14. "And yet I think that I am even worse off than she was, for I have to stay here without any little chickens to amuse me, or to run under my wings."

Write:The young hen was washed. It was bad for her and made her feathers rough. She grew tired of being shut up though she was well fed.

Questions: 1. Where was Betty placed alone? 2. What did she say to herself about her food? 3. What did the cook do to her? 4. What did the housemaid tell her? 5. Where was Betty put next? 6. What did she think about in the coop?

1. "No, I have nothing to amuse me," said Betty, "but the thought of how handsome I am. It is nice to think of that, and yet I am almost tired of hearing it."

2. Betty would have given one of the best feathers in her tail for a good race after a beetle, or for a good scratch for grubs down by the manure heap, which was the best place.

3. But she had hardly yet begun her trials. On the next day, the coachman took her in a hamper to the show. Betty screamed as she was put into it, for she did not like it at all.

4. "I will behave well, no matter what happens," said poor Betty. But she felt afraid of the noise, the pushing, and the crowd of people and poultry at the Palace.

5. There were Spanish cocks and hens, who were lofty and silent. There were little silver bantams who chuckled. Some hens were tiny dwarfs like the bantams, others were giants like the Cochin China fowls.

6. There were gamecocks, too, looking like fierce soldiers. Among all the smart poultry Betty found herself passed over and called "only a pullet."

7. All the other fowls were called "loves" and "dears," while hardly any people took notice of her plain white dress and rosy head-dress. But one gentle lady came by, who stopped near Betty.

8. She pointed Betty out to a child who was with her, saying that she was one ofthe best hens of her kind which she had ever seen.

9. The lady added, "No fowls lay better eggs than these pretty Dorkings.

"They make the best mothers, they are English in their habits, and therefore stronger than birds from foreign lands."

THE PRETTY DORKING.THE PRETTY DORKING.

10. The air at the Crystal Palace was hot and close. Betty began to wish herself at home again. She could not eat, though food was there.

11. And though her feathers were allruffled and in a mess, she did not feel able to put them to rights. Yet she knew that she ought to tidy herself.

12. One of the hens near began to mock at her. She said with a pretence of being polite: "May I put your tail tidy for you, madam, since it seems too much trouble for you to do it yourself?"

13. And then the sly thing gave a tweak and pulled out Betty's longest feather.

14. A hen near gave a dab with her beak at Betty's pink comb, and made it bleed. And though she said after that she did not mean to hurt her, that did not heal the sore place.

Write:At the show Betty found it hot and close. She did not care to eat. The other hens played tricks with her. She wished herself at home.

Questions: 1. When Betty was in the coop what did she long for? 2. When she got to the show what did she see? 3. How did she feel? 4. How did the other hens behave to Betty? 5. What did the lady say about her? 6. What happened to her comb?

1. After a time Betty felt better. The other fowls left off teasing her. They had only been in rough play, and did not mean to worry her too much.

2. She dipped her bill into a dish of water which was there, picked a bit of lettuce, and said to herself that she would make the best of a bad job.

3. Betty was still as vain of having five toes on each foot as any fine young lady could be of wearing new shoes. She was always holding up one foot or else the other. No doubt she meant to show off.

4. There was a great cackling and noise in some of the pens after a while, and Betty heard that the judges were coming. These were the people who were to give the prizes, and she felt now more vain than ever.

5. She made up her mind to present her foot to the judges, and even to push it out between the wires of her pen, as far as shecould. "They cannot help giving me a prize when they see my five toes!" she said to herself.

6. But just as she had thrust her toe right out between the wires, after much trouble, she heard an odd voice from the next pen say, "Hullo, what's that? Is it a grub?"

7. A queer big bird with a long neck had caught sight of the foot, and he gave a great snap at it as he saw it move. Betty tried to pull her toes back, but the big bird would not let go.

8. At last it ended by his pecking off the nail and first joint of poor Betty's middle claw. She was in much pain and screamed loudly.

9. Up rushed a man, the keeper, who took Betty out in a great hurry. "We must have no wounded or sick birds here for the judges to see," he said.

10. And he put poor Betty quickly away into one of the pens which had been used for bringing fowls to the show. It was empty but for two or three poor hens who were either dead or dying.

11. These were fowls which had been hurt on the way, by being shaken or roughly used. They had been put into baskets too small for them, or had been badly used in some other way. It is bad for birds to travel.

12. Here Betty sank down on the ground. At first she could do nothing but think of her poor toe; she pushed it into some soft stuff which lay on the floor, and this stopped the bleeding.

13. How sad she felt! All her fine hopes of a prize were gone. She was a cripple now for life, and no one would care for her fine looks any more.

14. "I wonder what is the use of shows?" thought Betty. "Why do people want other people to tell them that their cocks and hens are pretty?"

15. After the bustle and fuss of the day were over, one of the keepers came with a boy to look after the dead and dying.

16. "She was as great a beauty as ever I did see," said the man. "A perfect pullet!—that she was. But, dear me! she is not perfect now that her toe is gone.

17. "She is good for nothing now but to lay eggs and bring up chicks. She was worth a couple of pounds; now she would only fetch a couple of shillings.

18. "Here, Jack, tie a bit of rag round the stump, and give her food and water in that spare box. I cannot bear to wring her neck, as we are forced to do with many, to put them out of pain."

Write:Poor Betty had her toe bitten off. She was put into a place out of sight. Here she was in great pain, and had lost all hopes of a prize.

Questions: 1. After a time how did Betty feel? 2. What did she do with her foot? 3. What happened to one of her toes? 4. Where was she put after her toe was bitten off? 5. What was the boy told to do for Betty? 6. What did the man say that she was fit for now?

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