sliding down upon it till he reached the end, where, after floating in the air a little while, he lighted safely on the land, and scampered off to his home. "Rills from the Fountain of Life."

LESSON 29.-BUDS.-Part 1.

Early

notice bigger

weather

gathered

sticky wrapped

chosen

chestnut

halves penknife smoothly

1. "I THINK, Willy," said his mother to him one morning in the early part of spring, "that the trees will soon be in leaf."

2. "But, mamma," replied Willy, "the trees look as if they were nothing but dry sticks, just as they have been all the winter. I cannot see any thing on them like leaves or flowers."

3. "I believe that you can see as well as I can; but then you are not so much used to take notice of what you see. When I was a little child like you, I did not observe what happened in the spring, but when I grew older I saw that every spring the trees, which had looked all the winter as if they had been dead, came out into leaf. The next spring I watched the trees to see when they would come into leaf again; and then I observed that at the end of the dry branches there were little round buds, not much bigger than a pin's head, and when

the weather was warm, these little buds grew larger."

4. "And are these little buds upon the trees now, mamma ?"

5. "They are; and they tell me that there will soon be leaves, and then flowers."

6. Some days afterwards, when the buds on the trees had grown much larger, his mamma gathered some of them to show Willy the little leaves and flowers inside.

7. "How sticky it feels!" said he, as he took into his hand one of these large buds; "I think it is dirty."

8. "No," replied his mother, "this sticky stuff comes from the inside of the bud, and covers the inside all over, to prevent the rain from touching the bud, for the rain would hurt it."

9. "Now let us see what there is inside, mamma," said Willy.

10. When they reached home, his mamma took all the buds she had gathered out of the paper in which she had wrapped them, and laid them on a table; and having chosen one of the largest of the buds of the horse-chestnut tree, she cut it in halves with a penknife, which, being sharp, cut it very smoothly.

11. "Look, mamma," said Willy, "there are no leaves nor flowers!"

12. "There is something," replied she," that

would have grown into leaves and flowers, if the bud had remained on the tree."

LESSON 30.-BUDS.-Part 2.

Leaves
squeezed

curious enanged

ear-ache
great-coat

1. SHE then picked out the inside of the bud with the point of the knife, and showed Willy some little things shaped like leaves, but they were not green.

2.How curious!" said he; "and what is this white stuff sticking about the little leaves? it looks like bits of cotton, such as you put in my ear when I had the ear-ache, to keep it warm.'

3. "Oh, this is to keep the little buds warm, though it is not cotton."

4. As she picked out the leaves, she made Willy observe how nicely they were folded over each other, and how closely they stuck together.

5. "If they were not so well squeezed together," said Willy, "they could never all be packed up in this bud, though it is a large one. And what is the cover made of, mamma ?”

6. "It is made of little leaves also."

7. "But they are hard, and do not look at all like the little leaves inside."

8. "No! because the cold weather changed them; so, instead of growing into leaves, they

became brown and hard; but you see they do very well to cover up the others, and keep them

warm.

9. "Oh yes, mamma, just like my brown great-coat; but now, pray show me the flower."

10. "Here it is," said she, taking something out of the middle of the bud; "you can just see the shape. This would have grown into a pretty bunch of white and pink flowers. When the buds on the tree burst open, and you see the leaves and the flower growing, do you think you will know their shape again?”

11. "Oh yes, mamma, only they will be a great deal bigger."

12. "The buds will grow larger and larger every day," said his mamma, "till at last the covering will be too small to hold them; then it will burst open; and the little leaves will be green, and spread themselves out, and after that the flowers will blow, and look beautiful. But a great many days must pass first; for they must have rain to water them, and sunshine to warm them and make them grow."—Mrs. Marcet.

LADY, lady, buy, I pray,

Water-cresses fresh and young;
Many miles.I'm forced to stray,
Lanes and meadows damp among.

Stooping at the crystal brook,

By the morning light I'm seen;
Lady, lady, pray you look;

Buy my water-cresses green.
'Tis the honest truth I tell,

These were gathered fresh to-day;
I have cause to know it well,
By the long and weary way.
On my arm, so tanned and brown,
So my little basket hung;

As I travelled back to town,

With my water-cresses young.