It is winter.
The cold wind whistles through the branches of the trees.
Mr =Brown has done his day's work, and his children, =Harry and =Kate have come home from school.
They learned their lessons well today and both feel happy.
Tea is over. Mrs =Brown has put the little sitting room in order.
The fire burns brightly. One lamp gives light enough for all.
On the stool is a basket of fine apples. They seem to say," Won't you have one?"
=Harry and =Kate read a story in a new book.
The father reads his newspaper and the mother mends =Harry's stockings.
By and by, they will tell one another what they have been reading about,
and will have a chat over the events of the day.
=Harry and =Kate's bedtime will come first.
I think I will see them kiss their dear father and mother a sweet good night.
Do you not wish that every boy and girl could have a home like this?



A little play does not harm any one, but does much good.
After play, we should be glad to work.
I knew a boy who liked a good game very much.
He could run, swim, jump and play ball; and was always
merry when out of school.
But he knew that time is not all for play; that our minutes,
hours and days are very precious.
At the end of his play, he would go home.
After he had washed his face and hands, and brushed his hair,
he would help his mother, or read in his book, or write
upon his slate.
He used to say, "One thing at a time."
When he had done with work, he would play; but he did not try
to play and work at the same time.



Bees live in a house that is called a hive.
There are three kinds, -- workers, drones, and queens.
Only one queen can live in each hive.
If she is lost or dead, the other bees will stop their work.
They are very wise and busy little creatures.
They all join together to build cells of wax for their honey.
Each bee takes its proper place, and does its own work.
Some go out and gather honey from the flowers; others stay
at home and work inside the hive.
The cells which they build, are all of one shape and size,
and no room is left between them.
The cells are not round, but have six sides.
Did you ever look into a glass hive to see the bees while at work?
It is pleasant to see how busy they always are.
But the drones do not work. Before winter comes, all the drones
are driven from the hive or killed, that they may not eat the
honey which they did not gather.
It is not quite safe for children to handle bees. They have
sharp stings that they know well how to use in their defense.



"Sit still, children. Do not move about in the boat," said Mr =Rose to
the young folks he was taking for a trip on the water.
The boat was a large one, and could not easily be upset.
There were in it Mr and Mrs =Rose, the boatman, and several little boys and girls.
"Keep still, please, you gentlemen," said the boatman, when =EdgarRose
and =ThomasRose began to move from one side to the other.
They kept quiet for a short time only. =Edgar soon wanted a stick which
=Thomas held in his hand. He lost his balance trying to get the stick,
and fell into the water.
Mr and Mrs =Rose both started up, and stretched out their arms to save him;
but in so doing, they upset the boat.
Every one fell into the water, and all were in the greatest danger of being
drowned.
Another boat was near, with but one man in it.
He hastened to them as quickly as possible, and saved them from drowning.
Children should always be careful and quiet when they are in a boat
on the water, and should obey what older people tell them.



Poor little =Bounce gave a great yelp of distress.
If he had been a big water dog, he could have jumped in and brought his master out.
He ran up and down the bank two or three times, barking, looking first at
=Willie and then around. Then he started, as fast as he could run, up the street to the store.
When he got there the door was shut, but he scratched against it and barked loudly, until
some one came and opened it.
He caught hold of Mr =Brown's clothes, then ran to the door, then back again,
catching at him, barking and jumping.
A friend who was in the store said to Mr =Brown, "Something must be wrong;
I would put on my hat, and go with the dog." =Bounce, seeing Mr =Brown take his hat,
started for the river.
Then Mr =Brown thought of =Willie.
As he came to the river, he saw =Willie's hat floating on the water, and his small arm thrown up.
He sprang in and caught him just as he was going down for the last time,
and quickly carried him to the bank. =Willie soon got over his fright,
and no one seemed to be more delighted than =Bounce.




=Father, and =Charles, and =Lucy, and I went to the beach yesterday.
We took our dinner and stayed all day.
=Father and =Charles went out a little way from the shore in a boat,
and fished, while =Lucy and I gathered sea mosses.
We took off our shoes and stockings, and waded into the shallow water.
We had a pail to put our seaweeds in.
We found such beautiful ones.
Some were purple, some pink, and some brown.
When they were spread out in the water, the purple ones looked like plumes,
and the brown ones like little trees.
Such a funny thing happened to =Lucy.
She slipped on a stone, and down she went into the water.
How we both laughed!
But the wind and sun soon dried =Lucy's dress.
Then father came and took us in the boat for a row.
After that we had a picnic dinner in the woods.
Then father spread his coat on the grass and took a nap
while we children played on the beach.




"Come and sit by my knee, =Jane, and grandfather will tell you a strange story.
"One bright summer day, I was in a garden in a city, with a friend.
We rested underneath a fig tree.
The broad leaves were green and fresh.
We looked up at the ripe, purple figs.
And what do you think came down through the branches of the fig tree over our heads?"
"Oh, a bird, grandfather, a bird," said little =Jane, clapping her hands!
"No, not a bird. It was a fish; a trout, my little girl."
"Not a fish, grandfather! A trout come through the branches of a tree in the city?
I am sure you must be in fun."
"No, Jane, I tell you the truth.
My friend and I were very much surprised to see a fish falling from a fig tree.
"But we ran from under the tree, and saw a fishhawk flying, and an eagle after him.
"The hawk had caught the fish, and was carrying it home to his nest,
when the eagle saw it and wanted it.
"They fought for it. The fish was dropped, and they both lost it.
So much for fighting!"





=Frank was a very talkative little boy. He never saw a new thing without
asking a great many questions about it.
His mother was very patient and kind. When it was proper to answer his questions,
she would do so.
Sometimes she would say," You are not old enough to understand that, my son.
When you are ten years old, you may ask me about it, and I will tell you."
When his mother said this, he never teased any more. He knew she always liked
to answer him when he asked proper questions.
The first time =Frank saw an hourglass, he was very much amused; but he did not
know what it was.
His mother said, "An hourglass is made in the shape of the figure 8.
The sand is put in at one end, and runs through a small hole in the middle.
As much sand is put into the glass as will run through in an hour."
=Frank watched the little stream of sand.
He was impatient, because it would not run faster.
"Let me shake it, mother," said he; "it is lazy, and will never get through."




She was back at the house in a few minutes, calling, "Mother! mother! auntie! Who wants me?"
"I, dear," said her mother. "I am going away for a long visit, and if you had not
come at once, I could not have said good-bye to my little girl."
Then =Bessie's mother kissed her, and told her to obey her kind aunt while she was gone.
The next morning, =Bessie waked to find it raining hard.
She went into her aunt's room with a very sad face.
"O auntie! this old rain!"
"This new, fresh, beautiful rain, =Bessie! How it will make our flowers grow, and
what a good time we can have together in the house!"