I have a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf; If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.'

8. 'I thank you, gentle sir,' she said, 'for what you're pleased to say,

And bidding you good-morning now, I'll call another day.'

9. The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,

For well he knew, the silly fly would soon come back

again :

So he wove a fine strong web, in a little corner, sly, And set his table ready, to dine upon the fly. and merrily

10. Then he went out to his door again,

did sing:

Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing;

Your robes are green and purple, there's a crest upon your head;

Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.'

11. Alas, alas!

how very soon this silly little fly, Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly flitting by ;

With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then then near and nearer drew,

Thinking only of her bright bright eyes, and green and purple hue;

Thinking only of her crested head, poor foolish thing At last,

Up jumped the cunning spider,

and fiercely held

her fast.

12. He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,

Within his little parlour; but she ne'er came out again!

13. And now, dear little children, who may this story

read,

To idle silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give

heed:

Unto an evil flatterer close heart and ear and eye, And take a lesson from this tale of THE SPIDER AND THE FLY.

may, the blossom of the haw- sic'-kles, hooked knives for

thorn.

hue, colour.

1. The Four Seasons Autumn, and Winter. season of the year.

cutting corn. stored, laid carefully away.

are Spring, Summer, Spring is the first It is called Spring

because the flowers then begin to spring out of the ground. The three Spring months are February, March, and April.

2. In February the ice and snow begin to melt; the wild-flowers show themselves in the woods; and the birds sing their sweet songs of welcome to the new year.

3. In later Spring, the young lambs sport

in the meadows; the swallows and some other birds have come from over the sea; butterflies hover from flower to flower; and the nightingale is heard in the evening stillness of the woods.

4. Summer is the season of the Sun; and this is why it has its name. The three summer months are May, June, and July. The trees are thickly clothed with leaves; the garden is gay with flowers; and the birds are singing their songs of joy. The hawthorns are thick with may-both white and red.

5. In June, farmers begin to mow the long grass and to make hay. The fields are full of the sweet scent of mown grass, which the breezes carry along the lanes and roads, and into the villages.

6. In July strawberries are gathered; and many other berries are also ripe. It is great fun to ramble in a wood in search of wild strawberries. The wild strawberry is much smaller than the garden strawberry.

7. The old name for Autumn was Harvest. The three months of Autumn are August, September, and October.

8. Autumn is the season for fruit. Apples, pears, plums, and all kinds of fruit are ripe. The corn, too, is ripe, and has put on a golden hue. The reapers cut it down with their sickles and reaping-machines, and tie

it up into sheaves. Starlings fly about in large flocks in the harvest fields.

9. At the very end of autumn, the potatoes are dug up and stored in potato-pits. In the south of England, cider is made from apples, and perry from pears.

EXERCISES.-1. Pronounce and write :

2. Mention or write down the names of three things that may be seen in each of the three seasons: Spring, summer, and autumn.

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

1. Come out into the lane with me

And see what I have found;

It is a little robin's nest

That's built upon the ground.