" When you come to the castle where the bird is, I will stay with the princess at the door, and you will ride in and speak to the king. When he sees it is the right horse, he will bring out the bird; but you must sit still, and say that you want to look at it; and when you get it ride away. "This too, happened as the fox said; they carried off the bird, the princess mounted again, and they rode on to a wood. Then the fox came and said:
Drawn by W.S. Wemyss
"The young man rode on with the princess."
"Beware of two things: don"t ransom anyone from the gallows, and do not sit down by the side of any river. " Then away he went. The young man rode on with the princess, till at last he came to the village where he had left his two brothers. And there he heard a great noise; and when he asked what was the matter, the people said:
"Two men are going to be hanged. "
As he came nearer, he saw that the two men were his brothers, who had turned robbers; so he said:
" Cannot they in any way be saved? "
But the people said "No, " unless he would give all his money to buy their liberty. This he did, and they all went on till they came to the wood where the fox first met them. Here it was so cool and pleasant that they all sat down by the side of the river. Then the brothers came behind and threw him down the bank, and took the princess, the horse, and the bird, and went to the king, saying: "We have won all this by our labour. "Then there was great rejoicing; but the horse would not eat, the bird would not sing, and the princess wept.
The youngest son fell to the bottom of the river"s bed. Luckily it was nearly dry, but the bank was so steep that he could not get out. Then the old fox came once more, and scolded him.
" Yet, " said he, "I cannot leave you, so lay hold of my tail and hold fast. "Then he pulled him out and said:
" Your brothers are going to kill you if they find you in thekingdom. "
So he dressed himself as a poor man, and came secretly to the king"s court, and when he came the horse began to eat, the bird sang, and the princess left off weeping.
He told the king of his brothers" evil deeds, and they were punished; and, when the king died, the youngest son and the princess ruled the kingdom.
A long while afterwards he met the old fox, who begged him with tears in his eyes to kill him. At last he did so, and in a moment the fox changed into the long-lost brother of the princess.
From The Children"s Enclyclop?dia
Author.-The author is not known.
General Notes.-What kind of apples look like gold? What kind of birds? What did the fox do for the gardener"s eldest son? Why? Why did he treat the youngest son better? Are there golden horses? How did the hero save the men from being hanged? Did he deserve to be made king? Why?
Lesson 34
THE fAIRy MAN
It was, it was a fairy man Who came to town to-day;"I"ll make a cake for sixpence If you will pay, will pay. "I paid him with a sixpence, And with a penny, too;He made a cake of rainbows, And baked it in the dew.
The stars he caught for raisins, The sun for candied peel,The moon he broke for spices And ground it on a wheel.
He stirred the cake with sunbeams, And mixed it faithfullyWith all the happy wishings That come to you and me.
He iced it with a moonbeam, He patterned it with play,And sprinkled it with star dust From off the Milky Way.
He put it in a pearl shell, Oh, white it was and new!
He took the cake of rainbows And baked it in the dew.
- Mary Gilmore
Author.-Mrs. Mary Gilmore was born in New South Wales in 1865. Her father was Mr. Donald Cameron. She became a teacher, and afterwards went away with other Australians to South America, where she married Mr. William Gilmore. She came back to Australia, and has since written many poems and prose articles.
General Notes.-How did the fairy make the cake? How did he bakeit? How did he season it, stir it, ice it, sprinkle it, serve it?
Lesson 35
THE fAIRy fOlk
Come, cuddle close in Daddy"s coat,
Beside the fire so bright,
And hear about the fairy folk That wander in the night;For, when the stars are shining clear, And all the world is still,They float across the silver moon,
From hill to cloudy hill.
Their caps of red, their cloaks of green, Are hung with silver bells;And, when they"re shaken with the wind, Their merry ringing swells;And, riding on the crimson moth With black spots on her wings,They guide them down the purple sky With golden bridle rings.
They love to visit girls and boys, To see how sweet they sleep,To stand beside their cosy cots, And at their faces peep;For, in the whole of Fairyland,
They have no finer sight
Than little children sleeping sound, With faces rosy bright.
On tip-toe crowding round their heads, When bright the moonlight beams,They whisper little tender words
That fill their minds with dreams;
And, when they see a sunny smile,
With lightest finger-tips
They lay a hundred kisses sweet Upon the ruddy lips.
And then the little spotted moths Spread out their crimson wings,And bear away the fairy crowd, With shaking bridle rings.
Come, bairnies, hide in Daddy"s coat,
Beside the fire so bright;
Perhaps the little fairy folk Will visit you to-night.
- Robert Bird
Author.-Robert Bird, an American novelist and poet, was born in 1803; he died in 1895.
General Notes.-Where did the fairies go? When? How were they dressed? On what did they ride? Whom did they visit? Why? What do they whisper? What do they do then?
Lesson 36
THE gOlDEN Egg
Robin sat on the grassy bank, idly picking the primroses, while Rough, the brown terrier, frisked round him, barking gaily.
But Robin took no notice of Rough, for he was thinking hard, wondering what he could do. His brother Jack had been a cripple for two years, and at last the Doctor had said he might have a crutch. Mrs. Penfold had a dear little one in her shop, only there were no pennies to buy it with!
Was there nothing Robin could do to help?
Suddenly his brown eyes grew big with surprise. Something was shining brightly in the grass, and, as he picked it up, he saw that it was a golden egg!