The dog.

The dog ran.

The cat.        The mat.

Is the cat on the mat?

The cat is on the mat.
The man.           A pen.

The man has a pen.

Is the pen in his hand?

It is in his hand.
A fat hen.       A big rat.

The fat hen is on the box.

The rat ran from the box.

Can the hen run?
See =Rab!   See =Ann!

See!  =Rab has the hat.

Can =Ann catch =Rab?

=Ann can catch =Rab.

See! She has the hat.

Now =Ann can pat =Rab.

Let me pat =Rab, too.



=Ned has fed the hen.

She is a black hen.

She has left the nest.

See the eggs in the nest!



Let me get the black hat. Now =Ned has it on his head, and he is a big man.

Come, =Nat, see the big man with his black hat.




=Ned is on the box. He has a pen in his hand. A big rat is in the box.
Can the dog catch the rat?

Come with me, =Ann, and see the man with a black hat on his head.

The fat hen has left the nest.  Run, =Nat, and get the eggs.







Do you see =Nell?

Yes; she has a pan with some eggs in it.

Let me have the pan and the eggs, will you, =Nell?

Has the black hen left the nest?

I will now run to catch =Rab. Will you run, too?





O =Ben! let me get in, will you?

Yes, if you will sit still.

Stand still, =Jip, and let =Ann get in.

Now, =Ben, hand me the whip.

Get up, =Jip!





=Kitty has a nice pet. It can sing a sweet song.

She has just fed it.

She will now put it in the cage, and hang the cage up. Then the cat can
not catch it.




Look at =Tom and his dog. The dog has a black spot on his back. Do you
think he is a good dog?

=Tom has a big top, too. It is on the box with =Kitty's doll.





The sun is up. The man has fed the black hen and the fat duck.

Now the duck will swim in the pond. The hen has run to her nest.

Let us not stop at the pond now, for it is hot.

See how still it is! We will go to see =Tom and his top.





O =John! the sun has just set. It is not hot, now.

Let us run and jump. I think it is fun to run, and skip, and jump.

See the duck on the pond! Her nest is up on the bank, under the rock.

We must not touch the nest, but we may look at it



The sun has set, and the pond is still.

=John, =Ned, =Ben, =Tom, and =Nell stand on the bank, and look at the duck.


The dog with a black spot on his back, is with =Tom. See! =Tom has his hat
in his hand. He has left his big top on the box.

=Kitty's doll is on the rock. =Nell has put her pet in the cage. It will
sing a sweet song. The duck has her nest under the rock.

It is not hot now. Let us run, and skip, and jump on the bank. Do you not
think it is fun?





O =Kate! the old cow is in the pond: see her drink! Will she not come out
to get some grass?

No, =John, she likes to be in the pond. See how still she stands!

The dear old cow gives us sweet milk to drink.




Papa, will you let me ride with you on =Prince? I will sit still in your
arms.

See, mamma! We are both on =Prince. How large he is!

Get up, =Prince! You are not too fat to trot as far as the barn.




O =Fanny, what a pretty ball!

Yes; can you catch it, =Ann?

Toss it to me, and see. I will not let it fall.

That was well done

Now, =Fanny, toss it to the top of the wall, if you can.




Did you call us, mamma?

I went with =Tom to the pond. I had my doll, and =Tom had his flag.

The fat duck swam to the bank, and we fed her. Did you think we might fall
into the pond?

We did not go too near, did we, =Tom?

May we go to the swing, now, mamma?




Here comes the band! Shall we call mamma and =Fanny to see it?

Let us stand still, and hear the men play as they pass.

I hope they will stop here and play for us.

See the large man in front of the band, with his big hat. What has he in
his hand? How fine he looks!

Look, too, at the man on that fine horse.

If the men do not stop, let us go with them and see where they go.




=Bess and =Robert are very happy; papa and mamma have gone to the woods with
them.

=Robert has a big tent and a flag, and =Bess has a little bed for her doll.

=Jip is with them. =Robert will make him draw =Bess and her doll in the cart.




"=Kate, will you play with me," said =James? "We will dig in the sand with
this little spade. That will be fine sport."

"Not now =James" said =Kate; "for I must make my doll's bed. Get =Mary to
play with you."

=James went to get =Mary to play with him. Then =Kate made the doll's bed.

She sang a song to her doll, and the doll lay very still in her lap.

Did the doll hear =Kate sing?



=Kate has left her doll in its little bed, and has gone to play with =Mary
and =James. They are all in the shade, now, by the brook.

=James digs in the soft sand with his spade, and =Mary picks up little
stones and puts them in her lap.

=James and =Mary are glad to see =Kate. She will help them pick up stones and
dig, by the little brook.


"What shall we do," said =Fanny to =John? "I do not like to sit still. Shall
we hunt for eggs in the barn?"

"No" said =John; "I like to play on the grass. Will not papa let us catch
=Prince, and go to the big woods?"

"We can put the tent in the cart, and go to some nice spot where the grass
is soft and sweet."

"That will be fine," said =Fanny. "I will get my doll, and give her a ride
with us."

"Yes," said =John, "and we will get mamma to go, too. She will hang up a
swing for us in the shade."




Peep, peep! Where have you gone, little chick? Are you lost? Can't you get
back to the hen?

Oh, here you are! I will take you back. Here, hen, take this little chick
under your wing.

Now, chick, tuck your little, wet feet under you, and go to sleep for a
while.

Peep, peep! How safe the little chick feels now!





This is a fine day. The sun shines bright. There is a good wind, and my
kite flies high. I can just see it.

The sun shines in my eyes; I will stand in the shade of this high fence.

Why, here comes my dog! He was under the cart. Did you see him there?

What a good time we have had! Are you not glad that we did not go to the
woods with =John?



"=Kate, I wish we had a boat to put the dolls in. Don't you?"

"I know what we can do. We can get the little tub, and tie a rope to it,
and drag it to the pond. This will float with the dolls in it, and we can
get a pole to push it from the shore."

"What a funny boat, =Kate! A tub for a boat, and a pole for an oar! Won't
it upset?"

"We can try it, =Nell, and see."

"Well you get the tub, and I will get a pole and a rope. We will put both
dolls in the tub, and give them a ride."





"Here, =Ponto! Here, =Ponto," =Kate called to her dog! "Come, and get the
dolls out of the pond."

=Rose went under, but she did not drown. =Bess was still on the top of the
water.

=Ponto came with a bound, and jumped into the pond. He swam around, and got
=Bess in his mouth, and brought her to the shore.

=Ponto then found =Rose, and brought her out, too.

=Kate said, "Good, old =Ponto! Brave old dog!"

What do you think of =Ponto?



"What a bright June day! The air is pure. The sky is as blue as it can be.

=Lucy and her mamma are in the woods. They have found a nice spot, where
there is some grass.

They sit in the shade of the trees, and =Lucy is singing.

The trees are not large, but they make a good shade.

=Lucy's kind mamma says that they will have a picnic when her papa can get
a tent.



=James and =Robert have gone into the shade of a high wall to play ball.

=Mary and =Lucy have come up from the pond near by, with brave old =Ponto, to
see them play.

When they toss the ball up in the air, and try to catch it, =Ponto runs to
get it in his mouth.

Now the ball is lost. They all look for it under the trees and in the
grass; but they can not see it. Where can it be?

See! =Ponto has found it. Here he comes with it. He will lay it at little
=Lucy's feet, or put it in her hand.




"Papa, may we have the big flag," said =James?

"What can my little boy do with such a big flag?"

"Hoist it on our tent, papa. We are playing Fourth of July."

"Is that what all this noise is about? Why not hoist your own flags?"

"Oh! they are too little."

"You might spoil my flag."

"Then we will all join to pay for it. But we will not spoil it, papa."

"Take it, then, and take the coil of rope with it."

"Oh! thank you. Hurrah for the flag, boys!"




=Frank has a pretty boat. It is white, with a black line near the water.

He keeps it in the pond, near his home. He always takes good care of it.

=Frank has been at work in the garden, and will now row a while.




"What is that," said =Lucy, as she came out on the steps? "Oh, it is a
little boat! What a pretty one it is!"

"I will give it to you when it is finished," said =John, kindly. "Would you
like to have it?"

"Yes, very much, thank you, =John. Has grandma seen it?"

"Not yet; we will take it to her by and by. What have you in your pan,
=Lucy?"

"Some corn for my hens, =John; they must be very hungry by this time."





=James has been to market with his mamma.

She has bought some bread, some meat, and some tea, which are in the
basket on her arm.

=James is trying to tell his mamma what he has seen in the market.




See my dear, old grandma in her easy-chair! How gray her hair is! She
wears glasses when she reads.

She is always kind, and takes such good care of me that I like to do what
she tells me.

When she says, "=Robert, will you get me a drink?"  I run as fast as I can
to get it for her. Then she says, "Thank you, my boy."

Would you not love a dear, good grandma, who is so kind? And would you not
do all yon could to please her?





"Come here, =Lucy, and listen! What is in this flower?"

"O mother! it is a bee. I wonder how it came to be shut up in the flower!"

"It went into the flower for some honey, and it may be it went to sleep.
Then the flower shut it in.

"The bee likes honey as well as we do, but it does not like to be shut up
in the flower.

"Shall we let it out, =Lucy?"

"Yes; then it can go to other flowers, and get honey."





Here come =Frank and =JamesWhite. Do you know where they live?

=Frank is riding a horse, and =James is driving one hitched to a cart. They
are out very early in the day. How happy they are!

See how well =Frank rides, and how tight =James holds the lines!

The boys should be kind to their horses. It is not best to whip them.

When they have done riding, they will give the horses some hay or corn.





A little girl went in search of flowers for her mother. It was early in
the day, and the grass was wet. Sweet little birds were singing all around
her.

And what do you think she found besides flowers? A nest with young birds
in it.

While she was looking at them, she heard the mother bird chirp, as if she
said, "Do not touch my children, little girl, for I love them dearly."

The little girl now thought how dearly her own mother loved her.

So she left the birds. Then picking some flowers, she went home, and told
her mother what she had seen and heard.




"Mamma, will you go to town?"

"What do you ask for a ticket on your train?"

"Oh! we will give you a ticket, mamma."

"About what time will you get back? "

"At half past eight."

"Ah! that is after bedtime. Is this the fast train?"

"Yes, this is the lightning train."

"Oh! that is too fast for me."

"What shall we get for you in town, mamma?"

"A big basket, with two good little children in it."

"All right! Time is up! Ding, ding!"




It is noon, and the school is out. Do you see the children at play? Some
run and jump, some play ball, and three little girls play school under a
tree.

What a big room for such a small school!

=Mary is the teacher. They all have books in their hands, and =Fanny is
reading.

They are all good girls, and would not be rude even in playing school.

=Kate and =Mary listen to =Fanny as she reads from her book.

What do you think she is reading about? I will tell you. It is about a
poor little boy who was lost in the woods.

When =Fanny has finished, the three girls will go home.

In a little while, too, the boys will give up their playing.




=Lucy has a new pet. Do you know what kind of bird it is? =Lucy calls her
=Polly.

=Polly can say, "Poor =Poll! Poor =Poll! =Polly wants a cracker;" and she can
mew like a cat.

But =Polly and the cat are not good friends. One day =Polly flew down, and
lit upon the cat's back when she was asleep.

I think she knew the cat would not like that, and she did it to tease her.

When =Lucy pets the cat, =Polly flies up into the old apple tree, and will
not come when she calls her. Then =Lucy says, "What a silly bird!"



"Well, children, did you have a nice time in the woods?"

"Oh yes, mother, such a good time! See what sweet flowers we found, and
what soft moss. The best flowers are for grandma. Won't they please her?"

"Yes; and it will please grandma to know that you thought of her."


"=Rab was such a good dog, mother.

We left him under the big tree by the brook, to take care of the dolls and
the basket.

"When we came back, they were all safe. No one could get them while =Rab
was there. We gave him some of the crackers from the basket.

"O mother, how the birds did sing in the woods!

"=Fanny said she would like to be a bird, and have a nest in a tree. But I
think she would want to come home to sleep."

"If she were a bird, her nest would be her home. But what would mother do,
I wonder, without her little =Fanny?"



These boys and girls live near the sea. They have been to the beach. It is
now evening, and they are going home.

=John, who sits on the front seat, found some pretty shells. They are in
the basket by his side.

=BenWhite is driving. He holds the lines in one hand, and his whip in the
other.

=Robert has his hat in his hand, and is looking at the horses. He thinks
they are very lazy; they do not trot fast.

The children are not far from home. In a little while the sun will set,
and it will be bedtime.

Have you ever been at the seaside? Is it not good sport to watch the big
waves, and to play on the wet sand?




One evening =Frank's father said to him, "=Frank, would you like to go with
me to catch some fish?"

"Yes; may I go? and with you, father?"

"Yes, Frank, with me."

"Oh, how glad I am!"

Here they are, on the bank of a river. =Frank has just pulled a fine fish
out of the water. How proud he feels!

See what a nice, quiet spot they have found. =Frank has the stump of a big
tree for his seat, and his father sits on a log near by. They like the
sport.



I like winter, when snow and ice cover the ground. What fun it is to throw
snowballs, and to skate on the ice!

See the boys and girls! How merry they are! =Henry has his sled, and draws
his little sister. There they go!

I think =Henry is kind, for his sister is too small to skate.

Look! Did you see that boy fall down? But I see he is not hurt, for he is
laughing.

Some other boys have just come to join in the sport. See them put on their
skates.

=Henry says, that he hopes his father will get a pair of skates for his
sister next winter.



=Ellen, do look at =Fido! He sits up in a chair, with my hat on. He looks
like a little boy; but it is only =Fido.

Now see him shake hands. Give me your paw, =Fido. How do you do, sir? Will
you take dinner with us. =Fido? Speak! =Fido says, "Bowwow," which means,
"Thank you, I will."

Isn't =Fido a good dog, =Ellen? He is always so polite.

When school is out, I will try to teach him some other tricks.




"O =Hattie! I just saw a large rat in the shed; and old =Nero tried to catch
it."

"Did he catch it, =Frank?"

"No; =Nero did not; but the old cat did."

"My cat?"

"No, it was the other one."

"Do tell me how she got it, =Frank. Did she run after it?"

"No, that was not the way. =Puss was hid on a big box. The rat stole out,
and she jumped at it and caught it."

"Poor rat! It must have been very hungry; it came out to get something to
eat."

"Why, =Hattie, you are not sorry puss got the rat, are you?"

"No, I can not say I am sorry she got it; but I do not like to see even a
rat suffer pain."




=Mary and =Lucy have come down to the beach with their grandpa. They live in
a town near the sea.

Their grandpa likes to sit on the large rock, and watch the big ships as
they sail far away on the blue sea. Sometimes he sits there all day long.

The little girls like to dig in the sand, and pick up pretty shells. They
watch the waves as they roll up on the beach, and break into white foam.

They sometimes make little houses of sand, and build walls around them;
and they dig wells with their small wooden spades.

They have been picking up shells for their little sister. She is too young
to come to the beach.

I think all children like to play by the seaside when the sun is bright,
and the wind does not blow too hard.




One day, =Willie's father saw a boy at the market with four little white
rabbits in a basket.

He thought these would be nice pets for =Willie; so he asked the lad how
much he wanted for his rabbits.

The boy said, "Only fifty cents, sir."

=Willie's father bought them, and carried them home.

Here you see the rabbits and their little master. He has a pen for them,
and always shuts them in it at night to keep them safe.

He gives them bread and grass to eat. They like grass, and will take it
from his hand. He has called in a little friend to see them.

=Willie is telling him about their funny ways.



"Come here, =Rose. Look down into this bush."

"O =Willie! a bird's nest! What cunning, little eggs! May we take it, and
show it to mother? "

"What would the old bird do, =Rose, if she should come back and not find
her nest?"

"Oh, we would bring it right back, =Willie!"

"Yes; but we could not fasten it in its place again. If the wind should
blow it over, the eggs would get broken."




"How does the bird make the nest so strong, =Willie?"

"The mother bird has her bill and her claws to work with, but she would
not know how to make the nest if God did not teach her. Do you see what it
is made of?"

"Yes, =Willie, I see some horse-hairs and some dry grass. The old bird must
have worked hard to find all the hairs, and make them into such a pretty,
round nest."

"Shall we take the nest, =Rose?"

"Oh no, =Willie! We must not take it; but we will come and look at it
again, some time."







"=Willie, when I was feeding the birds just now, a little brown bird flew
away with a crumb in its bill."

"Where did it go, =Rose?"

"I don't know; away off, somewhere."

"I can guess where, =Rose. Don't you know the nest we saw some days ago?
What do you think is in it now?"

"O =Willie, I know! Some little brown birds. Let us go and see them."

"All right; but we must not go too near. There! I just saw the old bird
fly out of the bush. Stand here, =Rose. Can you see?"

"Why, =Willie, what ugly little things! What big mouths they have, and no
feathers!"

"Keep still, =Rose. Here comes the old bird with a worm in her bill. How
hard she must work to feed them all!"







One day, when =Mary was taking a walk down the lane, trying to sing her
doll to sleep, she met =Frank, with his basket and cane.

=Frank was a poor, little, lame boy. His father and mother were dead. His
dear, old grandma took care of him, and tried to make him happy.

Every day, =Mary's mother filled =Frank's basket with bread and meat, and a
little tea for his grandma.

"How do you do, =Frank," said =Mary? "Don't make a noise; my doll is going
to sleep. It is just a little sick to-day."

"Well, then, let us whistle it to sleep." And =Frank, taking a willow
whistle out of his pocket, blew a long note.

"Oh, how sweet," cried =Mary! "Do let me try."



"Yes, =Mary, I will give it to you, because you are so good to my grandma."

"Oh! thank you very much." =Mary blew and blew a long time. "I can't make
it whistle," said she, almost ready to cry.

"Sometimes they will whistle, and sometimes they won't," said =Frank. "Try
again, =Mary."

She tried once more, and the whistle made a low, sweet sound. "It
whistles," she cried!

In her joy, she had turned the doll's face down, and its eyes shut tight,
as if it had gone to sleep.

"There," cried =Frank, "I told you the way to put a doll to sleep, is to
whistle to it!"

"So it is," said =Mary. "Dear, little thing; it must be put in its bed
now."

So they went into the house. =Frank's basket was soon filled, and he went
home happy.



There was once a big, white hen that had twelve little chickens. They were
very small, and the old hen took good care of them. She found food for
them in the daytime, and at night kept them under her wings.

One day, this old hen took her chickens down to a small brook. She thought
the air from the water would do them good.

When they got to the brook, they walked on the bank a little while. It was
very pretty on the other side of the brook, and the old hen thought she
would take her children over there.

There was a large stone in the brook: she thought it would be easy for
them to jump to that stone, and from it to the other side.

So she jumped to the stone, and told the children to come after her. For
the first time, she found that they would not obey her.

She flapped her wings, and cried, "Come here, all of you! Jump upon this
stone, as I did. We can then jump to the other side. Come now!"

"O mother! we can't, we can't, we can't," said all the little chickens!

"Yes you can, if you try," said the old hen. "Just flap your wings, as I
did, and you can jump over."

"I am flapping my wings," said =Chippy, who stood by himself; "but I can't
jump any better than I could before."




"I never saw such children," said the old hen. "You don't try at all."

"We can't jump so far, mother. Indeed we can't, we can't," chirped the
little chickens!

"Well," said the old hen, "I must give it up." So she jumped back to the
bank, and walked slowly home with her brood.

"I think mother asked too much of us," said one little chicken to the
others.

"Well, I tried," said =Chippy.

"We didn't," said the others; "it was of no use to try."

When they got home, the old hen began to look about for something to eat.
She soon found, near the back door, a piece of bread.

So she called the chickens, and they all ran up to her, each one trying to
get a bite at the piece of bread.

"No, no," said the old hen! "This bread is for =Chippy. He is the only one
of my children that really tried to jump to the stone."




We have come to the last lesson in this book. We have finished the First
Reader.

You can now read all the lessons in it, and can write them on your slates.

Have you taken good care of your book? Children should always keep their
books neat and clean.

Are you not glad to be ready for a new book?

Your parents are very kind to send you to school. If you are good, and if
you try to learn, your teacher will love you, and you will please your
parents.

Be kind to all, and do not waste your time in school. When you go home,
you may ask your parents to get you a Second Reader.

Will the hen let =Ned get them?