tered and tumbled about, trying to get out of the way.

3. His cries brought other sparrows around him, and soon it seemed as if all the sparrows in that part of the city had come to see what was the matter, and to offer their help.

4. Presently two of the birds tried to lift the lame little fellow by seizing his wings in their bills, but that plan would not work.

5. Then the whole flock began to chatter at a great rate, and at last three or four flew away. Soon one came back with a twig about four inches long.

6. This he dropped before the lame bird, and then two of the sparrows took hold of it with their bills, and held it so that the lame one could catch hold of the middle of it with his beak.

7. This the little fellow did, and, as soon as he had taken a firm hold, the other two flew away with him between them, over the fence, into the park, and into the woodbine which covered a great tree that stood near. 8. Here the flock of friends followed, twittering and chirping with great joy; nor

F

did they go away until they were certain the little cripple was taken care of.

EXERCISES.-Pronounce and write :

2. Mention or write down the names of eight things in the lesson.

3. Tell which of the words in section 3 are nouns, and which verbs.

It is almost as well to have nothing at all!
And so to the lollipop shop I will go,
Though I'll eat what I get in a minute,

GROWN-UP FRIEND :

I know.'

and listen

whilst I

2. 'Stop! stop! little spendthrift, and listen Tell you some of the things that a penny can buy ;

If

your

mind is made up that it is not to drop In your neat little box

with the slit at the top.

3. 'There is poor little Fanny, too feeble to play;
Who sits by the window, and watches all day!
A penny would buy her a doll to beguile
Her little white face to a sunshiny smile.

4. Then there's Peter, the blind man who stands in the street

With his dog, who is guide to his tottering feet;
He stands in the snow and the rain the whole day;
If you give him your penny,

5. 'Then there's old Mary Wilson, On her crutches with pain,

strong;

'tis not thrown away.

who hobbles along for she's not at all

You might run up to her and hand over your pennyIt's a way of being rid of it better than any.'

cap'-tive, person or animal swoop down,

taken prisoner.

silently and

swiftly, and

mous'-er, a cat or other ani

seize.

mal able to catch mice.

1. Where did you get that owl, Harry?' said Johnnie Mason one day to his friend.

'Fred and I found him in the old hollow oak at the other end of the field.' 'How did you know he was there?' asked Johnnie.

2. 'I'll tell you,' replied Harry. 'Fred and I were playing at hide-and-seek round the old barn, the other night, just at dusk. I

3.

Fred thought the bird must be an owl, and that he had a nest in the old oak. So the next day we went off to look for

him; and sure enough, there he was.' 'But how did you manage to catch him?' said Johnnie; 'I should think he could fight very hard with that short sharp bill of his.'

4. So he can when he is wide awake,' replied Harry; 'but owls can't see very well in the daytime; and the old fellow was taking a nap. He opened his big eyes, ruffled up his thick feathers, and kept shouting, Whoo! whoo!'-Oh! never mind who,' said Fred, and slipped him into a bag.

5. 'But what are you going to do with him, Harry?' 'Let him go. A young owl can be tamed very easily; but this one is too old to tame.' 'But won't he kill your ducklings and your little chickens?' asked Johnnie. 'No, not as long as he can find plenty of rats and mice. Father says an owl is a capital mouser, and can kill more mice than half-a-dozen cats put together.'

6. 'I'm glad,' said Johnnie, 'you have given me a sight of him before you let him go. What soft feathers he has !' 'Yes,' replied Harry, 'he can fly so softly that you can scarcely hear him—even in the quietest night; and that is why he can easily swoop down upon his prey and catch it.'