And nothing could they find
But a hedgehog in a bramble bush, And that they left behind.
The first said "twas a hedgehog, The second he said nay;The third said "twas a pincushion, With the pins stuck in wrong way.
And all night they hunted, And nothing could they findBut a hare in a turnip field, And that they left behind.
The first said it was a hare, The second he said nay; The third said it was a calf,And the cow had run away.
And all day they hunted,
And nothing could they find But an owl in a holly tree,And that they left behind.
The first said it was an owl, The second he said nay;The third said "twas an old man, And his beard was growing grey.
Lesson 57
LITTLE BLUE HORSES
The little blue horses come prancing, Shaking their flying white manes;Hark to the silvery tinkle
Of shells that are strung on their reins-- Pink shells,Purple shells,
Chink-a-chink, like silver bells.
The little blue horses come pawing Their way up the yellow sand;On each is a merman a-riding,
His sea-weed switch in his hand.
Pink shells, Purple shells,
Chink-a-chink, like silver bells.
The little blue steeds with their riders Will gallop away and away:
And we only shall know by their footprints That they"ve ridden across the bay.
Pink shells, Purple shells,
Chink-a-chink, like silver bells.
-- CHARLOTTE DRUITT COLE
Lesson 58
THE RAINBOW
The sunshine fairies were having a party. Dressed in their prettiest frocks, they were racing in and out among the clouds.
Along came the Rain Man with his heavy water-can.
"Out of my way, little fairies," he called. "I do not wish to spoil your pretty frocks. Run behind my black curtain, and from there you may peep at the little dusty earth children, as I pour out their shower bath from my great can. Now I have finished. Good-bye."Back danced the fairies from behind the curtain, each carrying a long ribbon of sunshine.
One strip was red, one orange, one yellow, one blue, one green, and the last purple.
"Let us join them together," they all cried. "They will make a lovely skipping rope." They skipped and played, until Father Sun called, "To bed, children!" and he blew out the lights.
Lesson 59
WIG, WOG, AND BLACK PETER.
Under a tall tree-fern lived a band of fairy folk.
One bright moonlight night, they all came out to play.
The water in the creek made a happy sound as it rippled over the little pebbles.
It set the fairies dancing.
When they were tired, they lay about on the soft moss.
Wig began to tell stories of black giants he had seen in the bush.
All at once he sprang up, and shouted out, "Who"s afraid of Black Peter?""I"m not," said Wog, and she jumped up and ran after Wig.
"It set the fairies dancing."
Then all the fairies chased Wig and Wog, calling, "We"re not afraid of Black Peter.""Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" shouted Wig and Wog; and, helter-skelter, they ran in and out among the grasses.
Sometimes they hid in blue-bells or chocolate flowers.
Then a black cloud hid the moon, and it was dark.
The fairies tried to find their way home, but they could not see.
They put out their tiny hands to feel the plants in the bush.
"Do you think this is our tree-fern, Wig ?" said Wog. "Its leaves feel like long feathers.""Let us climb to the top, and perhaps we shall be able to see," said Wig.
Up went the wee folk, one after the other.
Just as the last little fairy jumped into the tree, they all heard a voice cry, "Who is not afraid of Black Peter?"The wee folk began to tremble in the dark.
They tried to say "We"re not"; but they were too frightened.
"This is my tree," said the voice. "You have come to steal my gum-it is mine, and you cannot have it.""Oh, no; we are lost!" cried Wig and Wog together.
"We do not want your gum-
we want only to find our way home."
Just then the cloud passed, and there stood a real black giant.
He was just a little black
boy; but fairies are so small that they thought him a giant.
"Who are you?" he said.
"We are fairies who live in Dingley Dell," they all cried together.
"Well, now I have got you and you are my prisoners," he said.
"I know it is the fairy folk who tell our secrets.""Let us go home; oh, do let us go home to our queen!" they begged, "for daylight will soon be here."At last the black giant said, "Well, if you can guess my riddle, I will let you go. Who is under this tree looking up at you? Three guesses.""Oh," said Wig, "I know. It is the great brown snake who crawls through the grass.""Wrong!" said the giant.
"Is it the baby bear who rides on his mother"sback?" asked little Wog.
"Wrong again. You have only one more guess."
Then all the fairies cried, "Is it the owl with the great eyes who stares all night ?""You shall see," said the giant. "Wait till the sun rises ; then look below, and you shall know."Slowly the light crept up in the sky, and the big sun smiled over the gum-trees.
Wig and Wog climbed to the topmost branch, and bent over to look.
The river flowed beneath, and shone like a great mirror.
The fairies crowded up the branches, clinging to every little twig.
There, in the water, was a beautiful picture of their own little faces, with golden fluffy hair all round them like tiny sunbeams.
They looked and looked until the sun went down.
As the moon rose, Wig said to Wog, "It is time for us to go home"; but, when they tried to move, they found they were fastened to the branches.
They did not mind, for they knew that, when morning came, they would again see the wonderful picture in the water below-the picture of the "Wattle-fairies."Lesson 60
THE THUNDER-mAN
Bobby and Mary were picking buttercups in the paddock by the river.
All at once, a very bright light flashed into their eyes.
"Oh, what was that, Bobby ?" asked Mary.
Then, from a long way off, came a low, growling noise.
"That sounds like the lion we heard at the Zoo," said Bob. "What can it be?""It sounds like rocks rolling down a hill," said Mary; "come, let us run to mother."Off they started.
Brighter flashed the light, louder came the growling.
Bob and Mary began to cry, but they did not