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"Not quite sure, mamma," said Rosamond, who at this moment, recollected the purple jar; "but I will, if you please, look at them a little nearer." She went up to the table, and looked at them." May I touch them, mamma?" "Yes, my dear."

Rosamond touched them, and then exclaimed, "one is quite hard, and the other is softone is a great deal colder than the other-one smells like a plum, and the other has no smell at all I am glad I was not quite sure, mamma; for I do believe that one of them is not a plum, but a stone-a stone painted to look like a plum."

"You are very right," said her mother, "and I am glad you remembered the purple jar; now eat the real plum.if you like it." Rosamond ate the plum; and she said it was very sweet and good.

Whilst she was eating it she looked very often at the stone that was painted to look like a plum; and she said, "How very pretty it is! It is quite like a real plum--I dare say nobody would find out that it was not a real plum, at first sight. I wonder if my sister Laura, or my brother George, would find it out as soon as I did. I should like to have that stone plum,

mamma.

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If you had given me my choice, I would rather have had it, than the real plum which I have eaten; because the pleasure of eating a real plum is soon over. I should have a great deal of pleasure in showing that stone plum to Laura and my brother; and I should like to have it for my own, because it is very pretty

and curious. I should much rather have had it than the plum which I have eaten, had you been so good as to have given me my choice."

"Well, my dear, as you have eaten the plum, you cannot tell exactly which you would have chosen." "Oh yes, mamma, I am sure, almost sure, I should have chosen the stone plum. If you were to offer me a real plum, or this," said Rosamond, taking the stone in her hand, "I should choose this."

Rosamond was looking so earnestly at the stone plum, that she did not, for some minutes, see a housewife which her mother had placed upon the table before her. "A housewife!--a red leather housewife, mamma!" she exclaimed, as soon as she saw it, and she put down the stone plum.

Her mother placed the plum and the housewife beside one another, and said to her, "take your choice of these two, my dear; I will give you either the stone plum, or the housewife, whichever you like best."

"I hope, mamma," said Rosamond, with a very prudent look- "I hope I shall not make such a silly choice as I did about the purple jar; let us consider-the plum is the prettiest, certainly; but then, to be sure, the housewife would be the more useful; I should not lose my necdles, if I had that housewife to keep them in. I remember I wished for a housewife, and asked you for one the other day, mamma. I am very much obliged to you, for getting this for me. Did you get it on purpose for me, mamma ?"

"It does not signify, my dear, whether I did or not consider which of these two things you

prefer." "Prefer means like best; I prefer the housewife-I should not be so apt to lose my needles, and I like to cure myself of my little faults. I was very happy when you smiled, and praised me, the other day; and when you said you were glad to see that I wished to cure myself of my little faults; and I dare say, mamma, that you will smile a great deal more, and be a great deal more pleased with me, when I really have quite cured myself of my faults."

"I don't promise, my dear," said her mother, "that I should smile a great deal more, but I should be much more pleased to see, that you had really cured yourself of a bad habit, than I was to hear you say that you wished to improve yourself."

"I choose the housewife, mamma, and I will put my needles into it; then, I hope, I shall not lose them so often. This housewife will last, and be of use to me, a great while; and I should soon get tired of the stone plum, and forget it, as I forgot my little coach, after I had had it two or three days. I think I have chosen better than I did about the purple jar."

"I think you have, my dear little girl," said her mother.

Some weeks after Rosamond had chosen the housewife, her brother came to her and said, "Rosamond, can you lend me a needle?" "Yes," said Rosamond, "I can lend you a needle; I have never lost one since I have had this housewife."

She took a needle from her housewife, and lent it to her brother; and he thanked her

Rosamond was very glad that she could oblige her brother, and she was glad that she had cured herself of carelessness; and she said, "Mother, I am glad that I chose the housewife, which has been so useful to me, instead of the stone plum, which would have been of no use to me."

MISS EDGEWORTH.

Artificial-Made by men.

Baubles-Things which are not necessary. Ear-rings are baubles.

Buckles-Ladies used to wear buckles in their

shoes.

Clogs-Thick shoes.

Pause- To stop.

Exceedingly-Very much.

Glass-house-House where glass is made.

ANIMALS.

WHATEVER is alive, and grows, feels, and moves of itself, is an animal.

Some animals live entirely in the water, as fishes; other animals live on the land, as horses, and many others. Some animals live both on land, and in water; these are called amphibious animals.-The seal, of whose skin shoes are made; the tortoise, of whose shell combs are made; are amphibious animals.

Some animals are very stupid, and still, as the oyster; others are very active, as the little

mouse. Some keep awake, at all seasons in the year, sleeping only at night, when children sleep; other animals sleep all the winter. The tortoise sleeps in winter. Some birds stay in one country all their lives, as the hens, and pigeons; other birds fly away at the beginning of winter, to some warmer country, and come back again in summer. These are called birds

of passage; because they pass from one country to another. The wild geese and swallows, are birds of passage.

Some animals are very peaceable and affectionate, as the dove; others are very violent, or ferocious, as the tiger and wolf. Some animals feed upon other animals; others feed only on vegetables.

Animals which eat flesh, are called carnivo rous. Man is a carnivorous animal. When animals devour others, they should not be called cruel God has made them so, that they need the flesh of other animals to live upon.

Those animals which use a great deal of force to kill others, are called animals of prey: quadrupeds have very strong and sharp claws, for this purpose. The claws of birds of prey, are called talons. The animals which are eaten up, are the prey. The mouse is the cat's prey. Species means kind, or sort. Dogs are one species-cats are another species of animals.

The tortoise, or turtle, as it is sometimes called, has a head somewhat like a toad, and four short legs, with claws. He has a shell on his back, which is so large, that he can draw his head, and claws, quite into it.

There are several species of the turtle. One

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