Read Ebook: The Nursery March 1873 Vol. XIII. A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers by Various

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Ebook has 202 lines and 10947 words, and 5 pages

They were a lively, stirring family, and used to go roving all over the farm; but never was there a better behaved, or more thoroughly trained set of children. If a hawk, or even a big robin, went sailing over head, how quickly they scampered, and hid themselves at their mother's note of warning! and how meekly they all trotted roost-ward at the first sound of her brooding-call! I wish all little folks were as ready to go to bed at the right time.

One day when the chickens were five or six weeks' old, I saw them all following their mother into an old shed near the house. She led them up into one corner, and then, after talking to them for a few minutes in the hen language, went out and left them all huddled together.

She was gone for nearly an hour; and never once did they stir away from the place where she left them. Then she came back, and said just as plain as your mother could say it, only in another way, "Cluck, cluck, cluck! You've all been good chickens while I was away; have you? Well, now, we'll see what a good dinner we can pick up."

Out they rushed, pell-mell, as glad to be let out of their prison, and as pleased to see their mother again, as so many boys and girls would have been.

Well, day after day, this same thing happened. It came to be a regular morning performance; and we hardly knew what to make of it, until one day we followed old Mother Shanghai, and discovered her secret.

She had begun to lay eggs again, and was afraid some harm would come to her young family if she left them out in the field while she was in the barn on her nest. So she took this way of keeping them out of danger.

Of course, what she said to her brood when she left them must have been, "My dears, my duties now call me away from you for a little while; and you must stay right here, where no harm can come to you, till I come back. Good-by!" And then off she would march as dignified and earnest as you please.

She did this for a number of weeks, until she thought her young folks were old and wise enough to be trusted out alone. Then she let them take care of themselves.

This is a true story.

EAST DORSET, VT. M. H. F.

JOHN RAY'S PERFORMING DOGS.

THERE was once a little boy whose name was John Ray, and who lived near a large manufacturing town in England. When only seven years old, he fell from a tree, and was made a cripple for life.

His father, who was a sailor, was lost at sea soon afterwards; and then, John's mother dying, the little boy was left an orphan. He was nine years of age when he went to live with Mrs. Lamson, his aunt,--a poor woman with a large family of young children.

It was a sad thought to John that he could not work so as to help his good aunt. It was his frequent prayer that he might do something so as not to be a burden to her; but for a long time he could not think of any thing to do.

One day a stray dog came to the house; and John gave him a part of his dinner. The dog liked the attention so well, that he staid near the house, and would not be driven off. Every day John gave him what he could spare.

One day, John said to him, "Doggie, what is your name? Is it Fido? Is it Frisk? Is it Nero? Is it Nap? Is it Tiger? Is it Toby? Is it Plato? Is it Pomp?"

When John uttered the word "Pomp," the dog began to bark; and John said, "Well, sir, then your name shall be Pomp." Then John began to play with him, and found that Pomp was not only acquainted with a good many tricks, but was quick to learn new ones.

Pomp would walk on his hind-legs better than any dog that John ever saw. Pomp would let John dress him up in an old coat and a hat; and would sit on a chair, and hold the reins that were put in his paws, just as if he were a coachman.

Pomp learned so well, and afforded such amusement to those who saw his tricks, that the thought occurred to John, "What if I try to earn some money by exhibiting Pomp?"

So John exhibited him in a small way, to some of the neighbors, and with so much success, that he bought another dog and a monkey, and began to teach all three to play tricks together.

A kind lady, who had been informed of his efforts to do something for his aunt, made some nice dresses for the dogs and the monkey. The pictures will show you how the animals looked when dressed up for an exhibition.

The kind lady did still more: she hired a hall in which John could show off his dogs; and then she sold five hundred tickets for a grand entertainment. It was so successful, that John was called upon to repeat it many times.

Oh! was he not a proud and happy little boy when he found himself so rich that he could put a twenty-pound note in the hands of his aunt as a token that he was grateful for all her care of him?

It was more money than the poor woman had had at any one time in her whole life before; and she kissed her little nephew, and called him the best boy in the world.

John and his dogs grew to be so famous, that he had to go to other cities to show them; and soon he earned money enough to keep him till he could learn to be a watchmaker.

As he was a diligent, faithful workman, he at last became the owner of a nice house, and then took his aunt and some of her children to live with him.

UNCLE CHARLES.

THE SLIDERS.

COME Clara and Jane, Frank and Tom, come along; We'll watch the boys sliding, and listen their song: You'll hear it ring out like the notes of a horn, In the clear, frosty air of this cold winter's morn.

THE SONG.

Oh! how pleasant it is when the snow's on the ground, And the icicles hang on the eaves all around, O'er the white winter-carpet our way to pursue, With our schoolmates and friends ever hearty and true!

When we come to the place of the jolly long slide, With a run and a jump o'er the ice we will glide: Look out for the engine! keep off of the rail! Don't you hear the steam-whistle? make way for the mail!

We laugh at cold weather; we laugh at mishaps; We will slide till we're warm from our shoes to our caps; And the quick bounding blood as it mantles and glows Shall paint all our cheeks like the fresh, ruddy rose.

GEORGE BENNETT.

ELLEN'S CURE FOR SADNESS.

OUR little Ellen is never in a good temper when she comes down late to breakfast, and finds the things cleared away. First she complains that her bowl of bread and milk is too hot; and then, when Aunt Alice pours in some water to cool it, Ellen says, "It is now too cold."

I think the fault is in herself. She is five years old,--quite old enough to know that she ought to get up when the first bell rings, and come down to breakfast. She knows she is in fault. She has missed papa's kiss, for he had to leave home early on business; and this adds to her grief.

But, after she had eaten her bread and milk on the day I am speaking of, she asked Aunt Alice what she should do to cure herself of her "sadness." "I think that the best plan, in such cases, is to try to do some good to somebody," said Aunt Alice. "The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer another."

This made Ellen thoughtful; and she stood at the window, looking out on the street, long after Aunt Alice had left the room. It was a cold, cloudy day, and there were flakes of snow in the air. Ellen stood watching a poor woman at the corner, who was trying to sell shoe-strings; but nobody stopped to buy of her.

"That poor woman looks sad and discouraged," said Ellen to herself: "she must be almost as sad as I am. How can I comfort her? Why, by buying some of her shoestrings, of course."

Ellen had some money of her own put away in a box. She ran and got it, then, putting on her bonnet, went out and bought a whole bunch of shoestrings. Then, with her aunt's consent, she asked the poor woman to come in and get some luncheon.

The poor woman gladly accepted the invitation; and Ellen soon had her seated by a nice fire in the kitchen, chatting and laughing with the maids as merrily as if she had no care in the world.

EMILY CARTER.

MR. PRIM sat on the bank from twelve o'clock till four: He caught one fish--he caught a cold--and then--caught nothing more.

KITTY AND THE BEE.

THERE were no mice for kitty, and what could she do? She could not sit still. She saw the little soft white chickens running about in the grass, and she thought she would try to catch one.

So she crouched down, and, without making a bit of noise, was getting ready for a spring.

But the chickens had a dear mother who loved them. When she saw kitty creeping along, she knew that they were in danger: so she flew at kitty, and made a dreadful noise that scared her away.

Then she saw a pretty bird on a bush, singing as hard as he could sing. Kitty crept along under the bush, like a sly little rogue. But the bird saw her coming, and flew away.

One day a bee was coming home with honey. Kitty saw the bee, and caught it in her mouth. I think she will not try to catch any more bees. Can you guess why?

W. O. C.

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