The little colt
Dear George,—I wish you were with me now on my farm. We are having nice times. There is a little colt here that follows me all about. He does this because I give him apples. But I think he is more fond of the apples than of me.
Very cross
One day I had nothing to give him; and this made him feel very cross. He put back his ears, and kicked up his heels, and scared the chickens almost to death.
A little chick
There are ten little chickens. One of them was sick; but ithas got better. One of them was running along the other day, and caught his foot in a string; the string caught on a bush, and held him fast; and there he was standing on one leg and struggling until I pulled the string off.
William and Jane are going down to Mr. Walker's to get a basket of apples. Come and see me, and I will give you some; and you shall make friends with the colt.
W. O. C.
William and Jane
The Blackberry Frolic
"Why, where are you going, Nelly?" asked Martin Ray of his sister, as, with a plate of pudding for him, she entered his chamber where he was confined to his bed.
Poor Martin had broken his leg by a fall from a tree, and he had to keep very still.
"We have made up a blackberry-party," said Nelly. "The girls and boys are waiting for me at the door; and I can only stop a minute to say that you must be good, and not fret while I am away."
"Don't be late in returning home," said Martin; "for mother is going to take me down stairs for the first time, this afternoon; and I want to see you before I go up to bed."
"All the sweetest berries I can find shall be saved for you," said Nelly, as she tied the little scarf about her neck, put on her hat, and kissed Martin for good-by.
Nelly's companions were waiting impatiently for her atthe door; and, when she came, they raised a shout of "Here she is!" Then they set off, through a shady lane, on their walk to Squire Atherton's woods, along the borders of which the blackberries grew in great profusion.
Soon they came to a place where a brook crossed between two fields, with such a narrow plank for a bridge that some of the girls did not half like going over it; for the brook seemed to be quite full and deep.
"What a fuss you girls make about trifles!" cried Robert Wood. "Who but a girl would think of being frightened at a bridge like this?"
What a fuss about trifles
"Stop that, Robert," said Harry Thorp. "I will help them across in a way that will prevent all danger."
Harry plucked up a stout bulrush that grew near by, and held it out over the plank to the girls to serve as a kind of support for them to hold by. Susan Maples was the first to lay hold of the thick end of the bulrush, by which Harry led her across. Then the other girls followed; but, just asNelly got on, Robert Wood shook the plank, and tried to scare her.
He did not succeed in this; for Nelly was thinking of her dear brother at home with his broken leg, and she felt that she would not be afraid of a much more dangerous crossing than that over the plank.
After a walk of a mile, they came to the edge of the wood. "Jewels of jet! Look here!" cried Harry Thorp. "See the bouncers! Here's sweetness! Here's blackness! Here's richness!"
Now for home
And, true enough, there they were. Never were high-bush blackberries finer or riper; but the largest and ripest seemed always the hardest to get at. The boys cut hooked sticks, with which they pulled down the branches; and their mouths were soon black with the juice of the berries. Then the girls began filling their baskets.
The sun was low in the west when Nelly remembered her promise to Martin, and said, "Now for home!" to which the rest cried, "Agreed!"
But the girls had not gone far before they began eating the berries from their baskets, and offering them to one another,—all but Nelly Ray. She did not eat any of her blackberries, nor did she give any away; and yet she had the best basketful of all.
She had, besides, a branch of a bush, with berries on it, which she was carrying very carefully; so that she kept a few steps behind the other girls.
When Nelly reached home, she looked in at the open door, and saw Martin down stairs for the first time since his accident. He was wrapped in shawls; and Nelly said, as she put the full basket on his knees, and waved the branch before his eyes, "Why, brother, they have wrapped you up so, and your face is so pale, that you look like a girl."
"Looks are nothing: behavior is all," said Martin, laughing. "Why, Nelly, what a splendid feast we shall have! What big ones! Thank you, dear, dear sister."
As she heard those words, and saw his pleased looks, Nelly felt she was well repaid for all her trouble.
Ida Fay.
Home with the berries
Border
Music
[Transcriber's Note: You can play this music (MIDI file) by clickinghere.]
2 "I don't like cold lamb;Give me raspberry-jam:"But old Mother Hubbard said, "No!If a boy cannot eatSuch nice, wholesome meat,To bed without food he must go."3 So little Jack Horner,Who cried in the corner,Was washed clean, and put into bed:After sleeping all night,He awoke fresh and bright,And was glad to eat plain meat and bread.
Transcriber's Note:This issue was part of an omnibus. The original text for this issue did not include a title page or table of contents. This was taken from the July issue with the "No." added. The original table of contents covered the second half of 1873. The remaining text of the table of contents can be found in the rest of the year's issues.
This issue was part of an omnibus. The original text for this issue did not include a title page or table of contents. This was taken from the July issue with the "No." added. The original table of contents covered the second half of 1873. The remaining text of the table of contents can be found in the rest of the year's issues.