THE GOOD GIANT WINS HIS FORTUNE

Live Game Was Brought Home Each Day

The hound never came back again, and the Fox familylived in peace until the little foxes grew large enough to leave the home den and make homes for themselves.

—From "Stories for Children and How to Tell Them".Courtesy of J. Berg Esenwein.

Questions

1. What kind of home does a fox build for his family?2. What kind of lessons did the Fox children have to be taught?3. What did Domino do that reminds you of what a human father would do for his family?4. Make a list of the things the Fox family did that seem almost human.

1. What kind of home does a fox build for his family?

2. What kind of lessons did the Fox children have to be taught?

3. What did Domino do that reminds you of what a human father would do for his family?

4. Make a list of the things the Fox family did that seem almost human.

Here is just one "movie" scene, just enough to fill up this page. If you have forgotten how to play it, refer to the directions on page 38.

"Ha," said the giant as he stooped down and picked up something. "Here is the key." Then he unbolted the door and walked into the vault where he saw chests of gold and silver arranged along the wall. He marked dozens of them with the chalk that he had in his pocket. When he had finished, he put a purse full of diamonds in his pocket, swung a bag full of money over his shoulder, and went out without another word, locking the terrified steward in.

One of the facts discovered by a student of nature is that every part of an animal's body is fitted to perform its special task, and to help the animal live in the surroundings where it finds its home. Notice three ways in which the mole's bodily equipment is fitted to the life he leads.

"Dig" is expressed in every line of the mole's body. Digging is his life-work, and to this Nature has adapted his every organ. His eyes are of no use in this underground life, and so they have dwindled away until externally there is little sign of them. Objects he probably never sees with any distinctness, though he still can tell light from darkness. But he seems to recognize light only to avoid it. In the darkness of his tunnels not only would his eyes be useless, but dirt would be apt to get into them while he is digging; so they are gradually leaving him.

The ears, too, or that part of them that projects from the head, would be in the way. So they have been discarded. The inner and most important part of the ear, however, still remains, and the mole hears quite well.

His most remarkable difference from ordinary animals is in the arms. These are very short, and the hands are broad, hard, and horny, and have very firm claws. When I catch a good, vigorous mole, I find I scarcely have force enough in my thumb and forefinger to hold his front feet together. He can often separate them in spite of all my straining. His other muscles are comparatively weak. The hands have been altered into great shovels, and when he tries to walk over smooth, level ground or on a floor he moves with odd, quick steps, resting on the sides and not on the palms of his hands. He reminds one of a wound-up toy that is held in the air and allowed to run down. Butwhen he gets under the sod, the heaving line that forms over him as he digs shows that there he is in his proper element. Most animals would get dirty leading such a life, but you never see a cleaner animal than the mole. He comes out of the loose earth and squirms about a little, and he is clean. His smooth gray fur, shading to a silvery hue when it is ruffled, is very short and close and exceedingly dry. Indeed I know no animal with a more velvety coat. He would be a delightful pet to handle were it not for his ceaseless wriggling. Then too he carries a strong musky odor. This latter, indeed, is his only defence and I fear it is a poor one. Certainly it does not usually deter a dog from snapping him up. But perhaps it is meant for his friends rather than his foes. Friendly moles may scent each other from afar.

The mole is a reversible machine. He can run forward or backward at will. Probably as a result of this habit, it is wonderful how alike are the two ends of his body, his nose and his tail. Each is slender and each is bare; each is very sensitive, and the tail is just about as long as the nose. I think he uses whichever happens to precede, as a feeler, when he is making his way through his tunnel. For once having made a good big runway, he is very apt to keep on using it through the season. I doubt not he is often forced to travel backwards through his burrow. Then his tail must serve him as an effective guide.

—From "Under the Open Sky", by S. C. Schmucker.Courtesy of J. B. Lippincott Co.

Questions

1. Explain what the author means by saying, "The mole is a reversible machine."2. How long did it take you to read this selection?

1. Explain what the author means by saying, "The mole is a reversible machine."

2. How long did it take you to read this selection?

Ever since the World's War began, we have heard a great deal about Belgium, the gallant little country which saved the world, and Holland, her sturdy neighbor which stayed neutral. Both these small countries were once called the Netherlands. "Nether" means "lower"; you can see how suitable a name "lower lands" is for a country that is much of it below sea level. Until the fifteenth century this country had no one ruler, but was cut up into many little parts, each governed by a duke or count. Here is the story of a kind count, who ruled in one part of the land in the twelfth century.

In the twelfth century there ruled in Bruges a certain Count Bordewyn, whose fathers had reigned for many years before him. Bruges, in those days, was one of the most important centres of the Netherlands, and the count was a kind and good man whose only thought was to make his people happy. In order that they might not be afraid to tell him their needs, he went about among them dressed as a farmer and a peasant; and they, thinking he was one of themselves, spoke out freely in his presence. One night he left his castle, and, poorly dressed, went out into the country to see if there was any good he could do. It was a dark, cold night, and after walking for some time he was glad to see the lights of a house in the distance. When he reached the building, he knocked at the door and went in. He found himself at a wedding-party given by a farmer whose daughter had been married that day. The good count was very happy to be of the party, and without letting the people know who he was, he sat down with them and sang and feasted. It was very late when they, much against their will, let him leave them, and he walked back through the lonely country, making plans for his people's happiness.

Suddenly he heard a whistle, and five men rushed out from a clump of trees and threw themselves upon him. The Count struggled to the trees, set his back against one and prepared to fight. The robbers were armed with knives, but the Count had only a big stick. On they rushed at him. He struck at the first one with all his strength, and hit him so hard that he fell to the ground. Another one crept up to his side, and would have cut his head open; but the Count turned quickly, and, catching the stroke on his stick, snatched the knife from the robber's hand, and with a blow sent him to join his comrade senseless on the ground. This left three against one, and the Count felt his strength giving way under their blows. Still full of courage, he swung the stick round his head to keep the wretches at a distance, and, as loudly as he could, he prayed to God to send him help. At this moment he saw dimly outlined against the darkness a human figure. In its hands it wielded a strange weapon, which soon was falling again and again on the heads and shoulders of the three bandits until they took to their heels and ran. At first the Count thought it was some angel from heaven come to his help, but as the figure drew nearer he saw that it was a farmer, and that the mysterious weapon was a flail.

The Count and the farmer embraced each other, and for a moment did not speak. Then said the Count, "My brave fellow! How can I thank you? You have saved my life!"

But the farmer would not listen to his thanks; "No, no," said he; "I have done only what you would have done for me in the same circumstances, and nothing more need be said. I take it that you are a merchant earning a living for your wife and family, as I try to do for mine."

But the Count insisted that the farmer should ask some favor. "Listen!" said he; "I am in the service of the Count, and perhaps can do you some great good."

The Robbers Were Armed With Knives

For a time the farmer was silent, and then, hesitatingvery much, he told the Count his dearest wish. "For thirty years I have worked on a piece of land; with this flail I have beaten the corn, and I have loved the farm as my child. Yesterday my master died, and the land will pass into strange hands and out of my care."

The Count had listened quietly to his story, and at last spoke: "But, my friend, this is not such a difficult matter. How would you like the land for your own?"

The poor farmer wept with emotion. "Really, is it possible that you have such influence?" said he.

"Come to the castle to-morrow," said the Count, "and ask for the Captain of the Guard."

And the farmer, mystified and wondering, went slowly home. When his wife opened the door, she was very angry with him for being so late; but Cornelius—that was the farmer's name—explained what had happened, and although the wife could scarcely believe that such good fortune could be theirs, yet they went to bed full of hope.

At daybreak Cornelius dressed in his best and set off for the castle, followed by the prayers and blessings of his wife. When he arrived he was so frightened that he could hardly speak to the big soldiers who guarded the door, but at last he gave his message and asked to see the Captain. He followed the soldier into a splendid hall richly hung with tapestries, and soon the man whose life he had saved came into the room. He was dressed so beautifully in silk and cloth of gold that Cornelius hardly recognized him, and when he did he was afraid to ask his question. But his friend told him not to fear, that the Count was favorable to him.

He led the trembling Cornelius through many rooms and at last stopped outside a big door. "In this hall you will see the Count. Ask for what you wish," he said.

But Cornelius said he was so much afraid that he dared not ask. "Besides, how shall I know the Count from all his followers?" he inquired.

And the answer was that all the people in the room would kneel, bare-headed, except Count Bordewyn himself. So Cornelius followed his guide into the great hall where all the Court was assembled in grandeur, and, looking round him, he perceived that the only persons standing were himself and the man whose life he had saved. Seeing this, he at once knew that this man was the Count, and he flung himself on his knees and begged forgiveness for his presumption in speaking to him as he had done. But the Count, taking his hands, raised him to his feet and embraced him, and telling his Court the history of the previous night, he commanded them to treat Cornelius with every respect. He gave him the farm and land for his own, and stocked it with grain and cattle.

—From "A Peep at the Netherlands,"by Beatrix Jungman.

1. What was the Count's object in going about in disguise?2. What do you think he gained by it?3. What risks did he run?4. Do you think the farmer deserved so great a reward?5. What is aflail? You can find out from the story, without using a dictionary.6. Do you suppose the Count's people loved him? Why?7. What difference do you see between the way the subjects of the Count treated him in his castle and the way Americans would treat their mayor, governor, or president?8. Name the three scenes in this story.

1. What was the Count's object in going about in disguise?

2. What do you think he gained by it?

3. What risks did he run?

4. Do you think the farmer deserved so great a reward?

5. What is aflail? You can find out from the story, without using a dictionary.

6. Do you suppose the Count's people loved him? Why?

7. What difference do you see between the way the subjects of the Count treated him in his castle and the way Americans would treat their mayor, governor, or president?

8. Name the three scenes in this story.

You are now going to read a chapter of history. It will help you to see how our ancestors learned some things that are very common to us today, but which had to be learned before the wonderful comforts we enjoy were possible.You will like to study history if you keep in mind that it does not just tell of something that happened a long time ago, but that it shows how our civilization with its homes and schools and churches and government and our great railroads and steamships and factories came into existence. The thing we call civilization has grown and changed in thousands of years much as you have grown and changed in the few years that you can remember.You will need to read this selection very carefully. Your teacher will ask you the questions at the end and probably a good many more. See if you can read it the first time so thoroughly that you can answer all the questions. It will help you very much if you will write topics as you go along. In the fourth paragraph you will find a list of things that man has always needed. If you use each of these things as a heading and under it make a list of the steps of man's progress, you will probably find that you have mastered the selection.

You will like to study history if you keep in mind that it does not just tell of something that happened a long time ago, but that it shows how our civilization with its homes and schools and churches and government and our great railroads and steamships and factories came into existence. The thing we call civilization has grown and changed in thousands of years much as you have grown and changed in the few years that you can remember.

You will need to read this selection very carefully. Your teacher will ask you the questions at the end and probably a good many more. See if you can read it the first time so thoroughly that you can answer all the questions. It will help you very much if you will write topics as you go along. In the fourth paragraph you will find a list of things that man has always needed. If you use each of these things as a heading and under it make a list of the steps of man's progress, you will probably find that you have mastered the selection.

History is the story of what men have done in the past. It was not until men had learned how to write that they could keep a record of what they did. But men lived upon the earth for many thousand years before they knew how to write. In that early time they learned how to do many things which we are still doing and to make many things which we are still making and using. In these ways they did much to make life what it is for us.

How is it possible for us to know anything about what life was like in those ancient times when men could not write? Did you ever find an Indian arrow-head? Perhapsyou have seen a collection of stone arrow-heads and axes. These relics and others like them tell us many things about the people who made them. Then there are people now living, like the natives of Australia or some of the tribes of American Indians, who still use, or used until very recently, these crude stone implements, and who live very much as our own ancestors lived many thousand years ago.

The earliest men lived but little better than the animals in the forest about them. They were without shelter or clothing and had only such food as they could find from day to day. Men have either found or made everything that we now have. Early man possessed a great advantage over all the animals because he had a better brain and a wonderful pair of hands with which he could make the weapons, tools, and other things that he needed.

Men have always needed food, shelter, clothing, and the means of protection against the dangers around them. It took our early ancestors many thousand years to learn how to provide themselves with these simple necessities of life.

At first men lived upon the roots, herbs, wild berries, and fruits in the forest. Sometimes they found birds' nests in the trees and ate the eggs or the young birds. Occasionally they found a dead bird or animal and thus learned to like the taste of flesh. They hunted for shellfish by the seashore and caught fish in the streams and lakes. Then they began to kill the smaller animals with stones or clubs and in this way they became meat eaters. When men had learned how to make knives, spears, and bows and arrows, they could kill the larger animals and get a better supply of food.

For a long time all food was eaten raw, because the use of fire was unknown. We do not know how man discovered fire. He may have kindled it first from a tree set aflame by the lightning. By and by he found that a spark could beproduced by striking two stones together in the right way or that he could make a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together.

The making of fire was one of the most wonderful inventions in the world. Men could now cook their food. At first they roasted bits of meat before the blaze or in the hot ashes. Later, when they had learned how to make vessels that would hold water, they began to boil all kinds of food over the fire.

For a long time men procured their food by hunting, trapping, and fishing. During this time they began to capture and tame the young of some of the wild animals. Probably the dog was the first domestic animal. The cow was also domesticated at a very early period. Man used her meat and milk for food and her skin for clothing. He made tools and implements out of her bones and horns. No other animal has been more useful to him. The goat and the sheep, the hog and the ass, and later the horse, were tamed by early men long before real history began. After these animals had been domesticated by the hunters and trappers, some men became shepherds and herdsmen and wandered from place to place with their flocks and herds in search of the best pastures.

Presently another step was taken toward civilized life. Men had long known that the seeds of some of the wild grasses and plants were good to eat. Now some one noticed that if these seeds were sown they sprang up and brought forth many more seeds. Then it was discovered that the seeds grew better and yielded a more abundant crop if the ground were broken up and made soft before the seed was sown. Because of these discoveries some men began to be farmers. By cultivation, the wild grasses which grew in the fields or beside the rivers were developedinto wheat, oats, barley, and rice, the great cereals of the world.

When men began to procure their food by cultivating the soil it became necessary for them to remain in the same place in order to gather the harvest when it ripened. They could no longer wander from place to place as they had done when they were only hunters or shepherds. They now began to live in permanent villages and to cultivate the land lying near by. In this way the beginning of farming led to a settled life and the making of permanent homes.

Probably the earliest men had only such shelter from the rain and protection from wild animals as the trees gave them. After a time men began to live in dens and caves in the earth. These people are called the "cave dwellers". Still later men built huts by bending young trees together, weaving branches between them, and covering the whole structure with leaves and bark. When the hut was built of poles covered with the skins of animals it became a tent. Many of the people who wandered from place to place with their flocks and herds dwelt in tents.

When men settled near the fields that they were beginning to cultivate, they built permanent homes of stone plastered with mud or of bricks made of clay and dried in the sun. The roofs were covered with brush or timber. Then fire places and rude chimneys were added to these simple houses, and in other ways man's dwelling place was gradually improved.

The first clothing was probably made from the leaves of trees or from grasses matted together. When man became a good hunter he wore the skins of the animals that he killed. The ancestors of all of us were once clad in skins. The women of those early days used to cure the skins ofsmall animals by drying them. They then made garments of them by sewing them together with needles of bone and the sinews of animals for thread.

The women scraped and worked the large skins until they were soft and pliable. These they used for clothing, or for blankets, or for the covering of their tents. Still later, the women learned to spin yarn from wool sheared from the sheep and from the thread of the flax which they were beginning to raise. The next step was to weave the yarn and the thread into woolen and linen cloth.

It was because early man had the mind to invent and the hands to make the weapons, tools, and utensils which he needed that he was able to make such progress in procuring food, shelter, and clothing.

Man's first weapon was a club. A stone which he used to crack nuts with probably was his earliest tool. At first he simply found stones of the right shape for his purpose. Then he began to chip a piece of flint until it had a rough edge. Now he had a hatchet as well as a hammer. Because he held this hatchet in his hand it has been called a fist-hatchet. A great many of these fist-hatchets have been found. In the course of time man learned how to use thongs of rawhide to bind handles to his fist-hatchets. Now he had axes and spears.

It was a great day in the long climb toward civilized ways of living when some unknown inventor made the first bow. With arrows tipped with sharp bits of stone, man could now kill the larger animals. Stone knives were used to skin the game. Flint scrapers and other implements were very useful in scraping and softening the skins to fit them for use.

By using pieces of flint with rough edges as saws and files, men began to make tools of horn, bones, and shells. They now possessed daggers and hammers of horn and awls and needles of bone.

The Evolution of the House

For many thousand years, stone arrow-heads, knives, andaxes were made with rough, chipped edges. This time is sometimes called the Old Stone Age. When men had learned to make better tools of their stone knives and axes by grinding and polishing them to a smooth, sharp edge, they had entered upon the New Stone Age.

The next great forward step in human progress was taken when men discovered metals and began to use them. Copper was the first metal used, but it was soon found that it was too soft for making many articles.

Presently it was discovered that if a little tin were mixed with the copper it made a harder metal called bronze. So many weapons, tools, and ornaments were made of bronze that the time when it was used is called the Bronze Age.

Iron is the most useful of all the metals. It is much harder than bronze and better suited in every way for making tools and implements. It took man a long time to learn how to use it, because it is not so easy to work as copper and bronze. When man made this "king of metals" his servant, he traveled a long, long way on the road which leads to civilization.

The men invented the weapons and some of the tools of the earliest ages. But it is probable that the women first made many useful tools and utensils. Women wove the first baskets to use in gathering and carrying berries, nuts, and other articles of food. They used to cover fish with clay in order to bake them in the coals and they noticed how the fires hardened the clay. Then by molding clay over baskets so that they could be hung over the fire, women gradually learned how to make earthenware pots and bowls. Afterwards they cut spoons, ladles, and drinking cups fromshells, gourds, and the horns of animals. In these ways our foremothers made their first cooking utensils and their first dishes for holding and serving food and drink.

Clay Bowls and Woven Baskets

Women were not only the first basket-makers and potters. They were also the first spinners and weavers. They ground the first grain into flour with mortars and pestles of stone. Later they made simple mills for this purpose. In fact, women who lived before the dawn of history, began nearly all the household arts and crafts and in this way helped all the people who have lived since then.

Our earliest ancestors, like ourselves, found it necessary to carry things from place to place. But they lived long before the days of the railroad and the steamship. The first burdens were borne by the women. They followed the men who hunted, and carried the meat and the hides of the slain animals back to the camp. After the dog, thedonkey, and the horse had been tamed, articles to be transported were packed upon their backs or dragged upon the ground behind them. Sleds were made in the northern lands. Canoes and boats were built by the dwellers by the rivers and the sea. Last of all, the wheeled cart was invented. All these things are older than history.

We often call our own time the age of invention. The steam engine, the telegraph, and the many uses of electricity are all modern. They have made wonderful changes in our ways of living. But these changes in our lives are not as remarkable as were those made in the lives of our earliest ancestors so long ago by such inventions as the fishhook and the bow and arrow, and such discoveries as how to make fire, how to make pottery, how to domesticate animals and plants, and how to smelt and work the metals.

Nowadays children have homes and are cared for by their parents. Among the very earliest men there was nothing like our homes or our families. Each person found his own food and took care of himself. Of course, mothers cared for their babies, but nobody took care of a child after he was large enough to find his own food. Then he had to shift for himself. When he wanted his breakfast or his dinner he dug roots or hunted for berries, nuts, or acorns. Sometimes he feasted upon birds' eggs or upon a rabbit or a squirrel which he had caught. The honey which he found in the nests of the wild bees was his only candy and he was apt to get well stung in taking it. He lived in constant fear of the wild animals around him and usually slept in a tree for safety. He spent his entire life in this way.

There are many things that people can do better by working together. It took many years for early men to learn to help one another. When they became cave dwellers and learned how to make fire, the first family group began to be formed. This group was called the clan. The clan simply means those who were kin to each other; that is, a number of men and women who believed that they were descended from a common ancestor. At first the common ancestor was a woman, the clan mother. In those days, relationship was always counted on the mother's side. When a man married he went to live with the clan of his wife. In the course of time groups of clans came to be called tribes.

The Development of Transportation

A long time later, after the animals had been domesticatedand men had come to own flocks and herds and other things that we call property, the father became the head of the family, as we know it today. Our kind of a family with the father as its head existed before history began.

Words had to be invented, just as tools were. At first men had no language. Very slowly they gave names to the things about them and learned to talk to each other. Mothers sang jingles and lullabies to their babies. Around the campfire at night men told how they had hunted the wild beasts. Women talked as they gathered and prepared food or dressed the skins of the wild animals. Mothers wanted their children to be brave and wise, so they told them stories about the bravest and wisest of their clan in the olden time. Perhaps this is why children, and older people too for that matter, have always been fond of stories. In these ways languages grew and the simple beginnings of literature were made.

People have always been fond of ornaments. The earliest men wore necklaces of teeth and claws. Later they made beads of bronze or of gold. The women tried to make their baskets and their clothes as beautiful as possible by coloring them with natural dyes. Some of the men liked to draw pictures of wild animals upon pieces of bone or upon thewalls of their homes in the caves. People learned to count upon their fingers, and to use various parts of their bodies, like the finger, the hand, and the arm, as measures of length. For example, the cubit of which we read in the Bible was the distance from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. Our arts and sciences have grown from such crude and simple beginnings.

Our early ancestors lived in fear of many things about them. They thought that fire, the rivers, the sea, the sun, and many other natural objects were alive and could harm them or help them. So they offered gifts to all these things and prayed to them for help. Early men also believed that the souls of their ancestors lived after death, and that these ancestors could help them or harm them. They thought that if they offered gifts of food, and drink at the graves of their dead, the spirits of the departed would be pleased and would protect the living members of their families. If, on the other hand, the dead were neglected or forgotten they would become evil spirits who might bring great misfortune upon the living. They also thought that if the dead were not properly buried they would become ghosts, haunting the places they had known when they were alive. Because of these ideas early men were very careful to worship their ancestors. The first religions of the world grew out of these beliefs and practices of primitive men with reference to nature and to their own ancestors.

—From "Our Beginnings in Europe and America",by Smith Burnham.Courtesy of The John C. Winston Co.

Questions

1. Make a list of the things in everyday life which we take for granted as necessities which the earliest men had to learn how to make.2. What was the earliest important discovery made by man? Do you think this was as important as the discovery of electricity? Why? Name any inventions that have come into common use within your own or your parents' lifetime.3. Before man discovered fire, what did he eat? Mention two steps by which he came to have better food to eat.4. Mention in order five kinds of dwellings which the early men lived in, and three kinds of clothing which they wore.5. What useful things did women do in these early days?6. Why is your hand more useful than the paw of an animal?7. From what source did each article of food on your dinner table to-day come? How many people had something to do with this food before it reached you?8. Compare the clothing of people to-day with that of primitive man. Are we more or less dependent on others for food and clothing than primitive man?9. We are still making new words. Make a list of words that have come into use since the World War began.

1. Make a list of the things in everyday life which we take for granted as necessities which the earliest men had to learn how to make.

2. What was the earliest important discovery made by man? Do you think this was as important as the discovery of electricity? Why? Name any inventions that have come into common use within your own or your parents' lifetime.

3. Before man discovered fire, what did he eat? Mention two steps by which he came to have better food to eat.

4. Mention in order five kinds of dwellings which the early men lived in, and three kinds of clothing which they wore.

5. What useful things did women do in these early days?

6. Why is your hand more useful than the paw of an animal?

7. From what source did each article of food on your dinner table to-day come? How many people had something to do with this food before it reached you?

8. Compare the clothing of people to-day with that of primitive man. Are we more or less dependent on others for food and clothing than primitive man?

9. We are still making new words. Make a list of words that have come into use since the World War began.

This nonsense test must be worked out carefully or it may fool you. You will need only a small piece of paper for your answers.

1. If your name is Geraldine, or if you are not yet past 37 years of age, or

"If lollypops grow on butternut treesAnd godgillies ride on the galloping breeze"—

sign your name anywhere on your paper. Then, if you have signed your name, never mind the second paragraph, but skip to the third.

2. Rub out your name and write the name of the first president of the United States in its stead. Then take the remaining paragraph.

3. Write your name again in some other part of your paper and hand it in.

Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your grade on the second line. Divide the rest of your paper into four parts with lines drawn as shown below. Let the lines be drawn up as far as the third line of your paper.

SHIP BUILDINGAGRICULTUREMININGMANUFACTURING

Write the words,ship building,agriculture,mining,manufacturing, at the top of the four spaces on the fourth line, as shown above.

Below is a long list of words that is not very well arranged. On your paper re-arrange the words so that every word that concernsship buildingis placed in the first list, and every word that concernsagricultureis placed in the second list, and every word that concernsminingormanufacturingis placed in its proper list. If you finish before the others wait quietly for them to complete their work.

orecranemastdockmillloombulkheadsblastweavingcultivationdrillcropirrigationkeelfertilizercarpetslaunchsafety-lampsilkdyesreapinglacesoilriggingriveterpickpumpcave-inshaftspinninganchorshuttleminersteel plateselevatorsowingharvestergraintextilestractor

The table given below tells how much your savings will amount to at four per cent interest compounded semi-annually. One dollar a month is a little less than twenty-five cents a week. From this table, answer the following questions:

1. If you save one dollar a month, how much will you have in three years? Five years? Eight years? Ten years?

2. If you save four dollars a month—less than a dollar a week—how much will you have in six years? Ten years?

3. If you save ten dollars a month, how much will you have in seven years? Ten years?

4. If you save five dollars a month for ten years, will you have more or less than if you save ten dollars a month for five years?

5. Can you explain to the class how to read the table?

Monthly savings.1 year2 years3 years4 years5 years$1$12.24$24.98$38.24$52.03$66.39$224.4849.9676.48104.06132.77$336.7374.94114.71156.10199.16$448.9799.93152.95208.13265.55$561.21124.91191.19260.16331.94$10122.42249.81382.38520.32663.87Monthly savings.6 years7 years8 years9 years10 years$1$81.32$96.87$113.04$129.83$147.35$2162.65193.74226.09259.67294.70$3243.97290.61339.13389.50442.05$4325.30387.48452.18519.34589.39$5406.62484.35565.22649.17736.74$10813.25968.891,130.451,298.351,473.48

—From "Fifteen Lessons in Thrift".

There were four children at the big second-story window that looked out over the broad avenue where the historical pageant was to pass; four children in very high spirits. Of course they were excited and happy; it was a wonderful place for seeing, and it was a wonderful parade that they were to watch—a celebration of the ending of the great World's War. The procession was to take the form of a series of groups of figures representing great persons from the history of the five important nations that had been allies in the struggle. Alfred and Betty and Francis and Dick had been talking for days about the great event. They were sure that they would enjoy it, for though Alfred, the oldest, was not thirteen yet, and Dick, the baby, was but seven, they all thought they knew something about history. And if they weren't able to recognize all the characters in the pageant, they need only ask Aunt Eleanor, who sat with them in the group at the window.

From far up the street came the sound of a band, and all the watchers stood on tiptoe or craned their necks to catch the first glimpse of the marching lines. It was a regimental band, with the colors carried proudly. How everyone cheered for the lines of khaki soldiers who followed next! Then noisy enthusiasm gave place to eager and interested questions about the first historical group. And nobody in all the watching crowd had more questions to ask than our windowful of children.

The center of the strangely costumed company was a blonde, bearded, kingly figure, wearing a crown of gold, a coat of mail, and a long, flowing cloak. One hand was on the jeweled hilt of his sword; the other clasped to his breast a parchment-bound book. Behind him were twoattendants. Aunt Eleanor, watching her charges with as much interest as they watched the street, saw that they looked puzzled, though Alfred was trying to pretend that he knew the name of the king.

"You ought to feel honored, Alfred," said Aunt Eleanor. "That splendid looking Englishman has the same name as you."

"Of course," said the boy, pretending that he had understood all the time. "It's Alfred the Great. He," turning loftily to the younger children, who couldn't be expected to know so much, "was the first really important king of England. He was a great fighter, and finally conquered all his enemies. But once he had to run away, after a battle, and hide in a peasant's hut in disguise. The woman there didn't know who he was, and she went away and left him to watch some cakes that were on the fire baking. He was so busy thinking about how to get his kingdom back that he let them burn, and when she came back she scolded him."

"Those queer round things that the other man is carrying on that wooden tray must be the cakes," exclaimed Betty.

"Yes," said their aunt. "And do you see the musician with the harp? That is to remind us that King Alfred was fond of music, and did all he could to help it flourish. He was more than just a fighter; he wanted his people to learn all they could, so he started schools, and he founded Oxford College, the oldest college in England. Don't you see the book in his hand to show that he was fond of reading? It was very unusual in those days, a thousand years ago, for even a king so much as to know how to read. But right after him in the procession is another warrior king who loved learning and music and all the arts of peace."

And sure enough, as King Alfred of England passed out of sight, there followed another kingly figure, very tall and clad all in iron. Helmet, shield, gloves, boots—all were iron, and the wearer was terrible to look at, so strong and merciless he seemed. Behind him came a group of horsemen carrying iron spears with glittering points and with gay banners fluttering from their shafts.

"Well," said Betty, "he may have loved peace, but he doesn't look it. Who is he, anyway?"

"He represents the first great king of France, Charlemagne, a name that means Charles the Great. He lived at about the same time with Alfred. He was a great conqueror and overcame all his neighbors. He even led a huge army across the Alps and conquered the northern part of Italy. There he had himself crowned with a famous Iron Crown that was worn by the king of that country. But when he was not fighting he was building beautiful palaces and chapels, and encouraging all the learned men of the country."

"There seem to be a lot of soldiers in this parade," said nine-year-old Francis, "Here comes another. Who's he?"

"He must be a Crusader," said Betty, "for he has a red cross on his white cloak, and armor underneath it."

"He's a king, too," said little Dick. "He's got a crown on. What's a Crusader, Auntie? And is he one?"

"The Crusaders lived about three hundred years later than Alfred and Charlemagne. In that time the Turks—yes, the same kind of Turks whom you have heard about as persecuting the poor little Armenian children—had come into possession of the Holy Land in Palestine. All the Christian countries wanted to drive them out, so that heathen might not be in possession of Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulcher. So from France and Italy and Germanyand England great armies went out to fight against the Saracens, as the Turks in Palestine were then called. And they wore red crosses on their cloaks to show that they were going on a holy war."

"Did they get the land back?" asked Francis.

"Why, no, silly," cried Alfred. "Don't you remember just last year General Allenby conquered Jerusalem, in the big war? The Turks had been there all that time. But wasn't that Crusader," nodding toward the rider disappearing in the distance, "somebody special?"

"Yes, indeed. You aren't the only boy here that has a king's name. This was a king with the same name as Dick—Richard of England, whom his people loved to call the Lion Hearted, because he was so brave. I could tell by the banner with the lion on it that floated above his head. There are lots of fine stories about King Richard. One tells how he was captured by an enemy on the way home from one of the Crusades and kept shut up in a tower for a year; and how he was found and rescued by a friend of his who was a sweet singer, and who went about singing a little song that the king loved, until at last he heard the king's voice sing in answer to him from the tower window. Then there's a story of how he came back to England in disguise, and kept his wicked brother John from stealing his throne. Some day you must read Sir Walter Scott's famous novel, 'Ivanhoe,' which tells all about the adventures of Richard in disguise."

A convenient gap in the procession had given Aunt Eleanor time to tell the children this much about King Richard; but now another group, a very soberly dressed company, too, claimed their attention. The central figure was not a king in armor this time, but a grave, determined looking man clad in black velvet, with a deep lace collarand a wide black hat and feather. The children at once demanded his name.

"I must look at my program to find out who he is," said their aunt. "Oh, yes; William of Orange. Both he and his little country, Holland, have a wonderful story. Five hundred years ago the lands that are now Belgium and Holland belonged to Spain. As time went on the Spanish king, Philip, oppressed them more and more cruelly, and wouldn't let them have any freedom at all, either in politics or religion. But they were a liberty-loving people, and toward the end of the sixteenth century they rose in rebellion against Spain. This stern-looking Hollander was their greatest leader. He was called William the Silent, because of an event early in his career. One day the French king, who was in league with Spain, and who thought Prince William was in sympathy with their side, betrayed to him all the details of a secret plot. William was filled with horror and very angry, but he kept perfectly still, and didn't even show by the movement of an eyelash that he was anything but friendly and interested. He was called 'silent', you see, not because he didn't talk much, but because he could keep a secret."

"And was that when Holland and Belgium got to be independent countries? And why aren't they all one country, then?"

"Oh, the part that is Holland won its independence then, though poor William was murdered before the fight was finished. It was one of the earliest of European republics. But the part that is Belgium came to terms with Spain after William's death, and wasn't a separate country till long after. You see, the Holland part was made up of people of the Protestant religion, while the Belgian part, like Spain, was Catholic."

"I suppose that's why he's in this procession, because when he lived he really belonged to Belgium as well as to Holland," said Alfred thoughtfully.

"Oh!" cried Betty, clapping her hands, "I know who that next lot are! The lady in the ruff, with the little jeweled band in her hair, must be Queen Elizabeth, and those are her courtiers. Now every one of us has a namesake in the pageant, except Francis."

"If I'm not mistaken," said her aunt, "Francis has a namesake in this very group. Yes, surely—do you see the man with the pointed beard and the model of a ship in his hand? That is Sir Francis Drake, the great seaman. Over and over his little ship went in chase of the Spaniards, who were England's greatest enemies at this time. Elizabeth ruled at the same time when the Dutch, too, were fighting Spain. There was nothing too daring or dangerous for Drake to attempt. He was the first Englishman to sail around the world, a voyage which took more than two years. Once he sailed right into a Spanish harbor and burned all the Spanish ships there, which were being made ready for an attack on England. And he and his friends, bold adventurers like himself, laid the foundation of the power of England on the sea."

"I suppose the man with the red velvet cloak is Raleigh, and that's the cloak he spread down for Elizabeth to walk on."

"Yes. And do you see that kind, merry-looking man in black, with the simple white collar, carrying an actor's mask in his hand? That must be Shakespeare, the greatest writer of plays that ever lived. And I believe the man beside him, holding a great roll of manuscript and a quill pen, is Spenser, the poet who wrote a wonderful book called the 'Faerie Queen' in honor of Queen Elizabeth."

"We've had somebody from France and Belgium and England," said Betty. "I wonder if there won't be an American pretty soon?"

"There couldn't have been an American yet, stupid," Alfred informed her, "because there weren't any people in our part of America in Queen Elizabeth's time."

"Oh, so there weren't. There comes a soldier with an Indian chief and an Indian girl close behind him—he must be American, or the Indians wouldn't be there."

"Guess he's John Smith," spoke up Francis, "'cause I know he had his life saved by Pocahontas—that's the Indian girl. But I don't know what else he did."

"Oh, he was the leader of the first colony to be settled by the English in this country. What colony was it, Alfred? You can tell, surely."

"Of course, Jamestown, in Virginia. That was why the Indians got mad at him, because the white men were taking their lands away."

A burst of specially enthusiastic cheering arose from the street. The reason for it was the approach of a kindly-faced gentleman in dark gray coat and knee-breeches, with silver shoe-buckles and broad-brimmed Quaker hat. It was William Penn, of course, looking for all the world like the statue on the high City Hall tower. There was no need for Aunt Eleanor to give any information about him, for these were Philadelphia children, who knew and loved the founder of the "green country town" that had grown to be so large a city. Nor was there any need to explain about the next figure to arrive, a stately general on horseback, in white wig, cocked hat, and Revolutionary uniform of blue and buff. Behind him, in an old-fashioned carriage, rode Betsy Ross, holding the newly adopted Stars and Stripes, at which the men in the crowd doffed their hats.

But the next figure puzzled our little group of children. It was a very short man, stockily built, yet full of dignity. He, too, wore a cocked hat, and a plain uniform. He walked with head bent forward and hands clasped behind him, and his piercing black eyes looked at the ground. The children could not guess who he was, so Aunt Eleanor had to tell them.

"That is the great French conquerer Napoleon Bonaparte. He began life as an ordinary citizen, and won his way to the very top by his wonderful military genius. He won so many battles in command of the French armies, after the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century, that the people chose him to be consul, a position something like that of the president of a republic. Then he loved power so that he got control of the government and had himself made emperor, so that France wasn't a republic any more. After that he set out to conquer all of Europe, and he nearly succeeded. But one winter he went to Russia, and the cold and snow almost entirely destroyed his army; and he never could succeed in beating England. It was the great English general, the Duke of Wellington, who finally crushed Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo—you've heard of that? Well, after that the fallen Emperor was sent away to a little island, St. Helena, that belonged to England, and there he was kept a prisoner till the end of his life."

"He was something like the German Kaiser in the World's War, wasn't he?" said Alfred. "He wanted to conquer all Europe—and the United States, too."

"Yes, you'll learn that every once in so often history repeats itself. But we'll hope that the Kaiser's effort to conquer the world will be the last of such things, and that such a war may never be repeated."

"Oh, who is that rough looking man in the red flannel shirt?" cried Betty.

"That very red shirt tells me who he is," said her aunt. "Have you been wondering when we were going to have one of the heroes of Italy? Well, this is an Italian patriot named Garibaldi. About sixty years ago, when Italy was struggling to get free from Austria, and to be an independent nation, Garibaldi gathered together as many brave soldiers as he could, in the southern part of the country, and they marched to the help of their countrymen in a time of very great need. As a part of their uniform they wore red shirts. But one of the most interesting things about Garibaldi is that when his country wanted to give him a high position, he said he would rather go back to the farm he had bought for himself, and live his life out as a plain, ordinary man."

Little Dick had been keeping very still and listening, for all the people in the parade had been those that he never had heard of before. But suddenly he jumped to his feet in excitement. He, like every other child in the crowd, knew who was that tall, awkward, homely person in the long black frock coat and the high silk hat. There could be no mistaking that kind, sad face, with the patient, farseeing eyes. Behind the great president rode two soldierly figures—General Grant in his blue uniform, and General Lee in the gray, on his beloved white horse, Traveller. Nor could there be any mistaking of the energetic figure in hunting dress that followed him, whose face wore a smile that could not be spoiled by the heavy eyeglasses that were so familiar a part of a well-known countenance.

"Teddy," cheered the crowd, with the enthusiasm that always is stirred by true, generous manliness.

The afternoon was growing late. One group remained, with which the procession was to close. On horseback rode a tall, soldierly figure, dressed in khaki, with an officer's hat bearing royal insignia, and with his breast covered with medals. A pair of keen blue eyes smiled out of a clear-cut, earnest face. Behind him, in an automobile, rode a thin, worn old man in the scarlet robe and close scarlet cap of a cardinal.

"I need not tell you who they are," said Aunt Eleanor. "They stand to us for the little country that in 1914 saved the world by sacrificing herself. King Albert of Belgium led his own armies into battle; his queen, Elizabeth, nursed the wounded in the hospitals; and Cardinal Mercier stayed with his people to cheer and comfort them."

"I think they are the greatest heroes of all," said Betty softly.

"Any man is a hero, dear," said her aunt, "who spends his life for the help and safety of his people, not thinking what it costs himself."

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