2. Look!

there it is, close by the tree,

Half hidden in the grass;

I see the robin's scarlet breast

3. The nest is made of tender moss,
And lined with hair and hay;
And you may see the robin's eggs
When she has flown away.

4. The robin sits for many days,

And warms them with her breast;
How glad she is when first she hears
A chirping in the nest!

5. Each little bird comes creeping out,
And leaves the speckled shell;
The gentle mother keeps them warm,
And loves and tends them well.

6. The father robin looks for food,
And feeds them one by one;
He never stops to rest himself
Until his work is done.

7. At last the little birds are grown, And old enough to fly,

And then they leave the parent birds,

And bid the nest good-bye.

1. Winter is the season of cold, when we see very little of the sun. He rises late in the morning, stays a very short time with us, and sets quite early in the afternoon. (The word winter comes from wind.) The three

G

winter months are November, December, and January.

2. The snow often lies thick upon the ground; the brooks are frozen and have stopped their pleasant babble; and the little birds find it hard to pick up food

where.

any

out gaily through the

holly, or among the leafless boughs of the garden shrubs.

4. But, when Spring comes round again, the ice and the snow will melt; and as the seasons come and go, the friendly grass will show its face again, and birds will sing, and fruits ripen, and corn be cut, over and over again. So goes round the year, Spring,

2. Mention or write down the names of six things that may be seen in Winter.

3. Tell which of the words in section 1 are nouns, and which verbs.

soar'-ing, rising in the air.
cat'-kins, the soft hairy

clustering flowers which
grow on willows, hazels,
and other trees, and which

1. I am coming,
Hark!

are something like cats'
tails.
shoot, small twig or tender
branch shooting out of the
tree.

I am coming!
the little bee is humming;
See, the lark is soaring high
In the blue and sunny sky;
And the gnats are on the wing,
Wheeling round in airy ring.

2. See the yellow catkins cover

All the slender willows over ;

And on banks of mossy green
Star-like primroses are seen;
And, their clustering leaves below,
White and purple violets blow.

3. Hark! the new-born lambs are bleating,
And the cawing rooks are meeting
In the elms-a noisy crowd;
All the birds are singing loud;
And the first white butterfly
In the sunshine dances by.

4. Look around thee-look around!
Flowers in all the fields abound;
Every running stream is bright;
All the orchard trees are white;
And each small and waving shoot
Promises sweet flowers and fruit.