&&000 CANADIAN SCHOOLBOOKS CA303.TXT 1930-45: 3RD GRADE Toronto sample by dph 9-10 Dec 2003 1ST edit by dph 19 dec 03 RE-EDITED BY DPH 20 JUNE 2005 &&111 BIRD HOUSE DAY Sue stopped work to listen to them. "I hope," she said, "that the birds will come to our orchard. I love to hear them sing." "I like blue-birds best," said =Charlie, "and I want blue-birds to make nests in my tree." "They won't until it's old enough to have a hole in it," said =Tom. "And then it must be the right kind of hole." "What kind?" "One with a little ledge outside, or else a little twig in front, so that they can alight before going in." "You don't need to wait for your tree to be old, =Charlie," =Esther said; "you can put up a bird-house, which will do just as well." "But even so, he'll have to wait till the tree is bigger," said =Fred. "How long?" asked =Charlie. "Well," said =Jim, "it takes a long time for a tree to get started. But you needn't wait for that. Birds are good partners to have in this fruit-raising business. The more birds there are around, the fewer insects there will be to eat your trees, and the faster they will grow. Why don't you put some bird-houses in the old orchard and in the elms?" Dr =Moore made up this poem on his way home from buying a =Christmas turkey for a poor family. He recited the poem to his children as a surprise, and they liked it so well that they learned it all by heart. It was the night before =Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that =StNicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave a luster of mid-day to objects below, In the northern part of our own country are people of whom we hear very little. Their way of living is so different from ours that you will find many surprises in this story. =Sitsak, the =Eskimo, greets us at the door of his toupig. He lives away in the =FarNorth. His forefathers dwelt on the shores of the =Arctic Ocean long before the white man came to =America. The word "toupig" means tent. It is =Sitsak's summer home, and is placed on the sea-shore. The tent is made of seal-skins sewn together by =Sitsak's wife.; This skin covering is spread over a framework of poles made from driftwood picked up on the shore. The framework is higher at the front than at the back. Near the tent, =Sitsak's kayak, or boat, is drawn up. It is also made of seal-skin over a framework of wood and whale-bone. In the middle is a hole in which =Sitsak sits, and he uses a paddle broad at each end. The kayak is so light that =Sitsak can carry it in one hand, yet seated in it he can brave the Arctic seas. north of the city. These may have come by train, for there is a good railway on the island, or they may have brought their goods to market on a donkey with baskets on each side. In the baskets are live fowls, eggs, or fruit. The father rides the donkey. His wife walks. She has a baby in her arms, and a basket of rare orchids on her head. When the market is over, she will put the baby in one of the empty baskets, and he will ride home. One can buy all kinds of things in =Kingston market-pepper-pods and spices, baskets made of colored grass and snow-white reeds, walking sticks of ebony, or palm, or cinnamon wood; jackass-rope, which is a name in Jamaica for cheap tobacco. It is sold by the yard! In the middle of the court-yard is a fountain, round which the tired donkeys rest with drooping head, or munch hot bundles of hay. Here, too, the merry children frisk about, heedless of the sun When their flowers are sold, =Virginia and =Martha join the other children at the fountain, or perhaps they wander off to one of the piers, to watch the famous diving boys. These boys are as much at home in the water as on land. "What a fussy old Moon!" sighed =FeterkinSpray, And he sailed, and he sailed, and he sailed away; And when he got there, he exclaimed, "My Stars! I had almost forgotten to call on =Mars." "Fine fish," cried =Mars, and he smacked his lips, "Charge a dozen or so to my next eclipse!" "0h dear, 0h dear!" sighed =PeterkinSpray, And he sailed, and he sailed, and he sailed away; And when he got there, he declared, "I wish I never, never had learned to fish, For some won't buy, and others won't pay, And I'm tired, and tired of sailing away!" "I know what I'll do!" said =PeterkinSpray, And he turned his boat down the Milky Way. He opened the Dipper (yes, honest, he did!), He popped in his cargo, and slapped down the lid. "Here's a kettle of fish!" laughed =PeterkinSpray. And he sailed, and he sailed, and he sailed away. You have read so many poems together that you will have no trouble in finding the way to read "-PeterkinSpray" as a choir. In reading it together, make use of the speeches and the line that is repeated in each verse. After that he looked very happy; and he kept on looking so very happy that his friends called him =HappyTumpy, or for short. Next day set out to seek his fortune. He had tied up the bag again and put it into the very middle of his bundle. His mother gave him some bread and a piece of cheese, two apples, and a banana. Then he set out with a happy face. He whistled as he went along with his bundle on a stick over his shoulder. After a time he was tired and sat down on a large mile-stone. As he was eating an apple, a black cat came along. It rubbed its side against the large stone, and stroked its head. Then it sniffed at the bundle that lay on the grass. Next it sneezed, and then it began to laugh. It looked so funny that began to laugh too. "You must come with me, puss," said The cat was now smiling broadly. It looked up at and he fed it. Then they went on side by side. =JEANNIE'S KITTEN "It never rains but it pours." Have you heard about that? And this time it rained-kittens. The twins, =Jeannie and =Jock, were having a very happy summer at the farm, but one day Aunt =Madge found =Jeannie looking out of the window and sighing. Aunt =Madge put an arm around her. "What is the matter, dear?" she asked. "Do you feel sick?" The little girl looked up. "No, not sick," she said, "but =MaryKent has the dearest little cuddly gray kitty, with a blue ribbon on its neck, and I wish I had one too." Aunt =Madge knew that =Jeannie was feeling a little homesick, and she said, "Well, we must see if we can get you one. We really ought to have a cat in the house. I heard a mouse in the pantry last night, and old Barn Pussy never comes up to the house to catch mice at all." So at the =Women'sInstitute meeting that afternoon, Aunt =Madge. told the women about =Jeannie's wish for a cat. "If anyone has a gray kitten that needs a home, we shall be glad to look after it," she said. "Thank you very much," she said, "but they would fall off when you gave your great jumps." "They!" cried =GrasshopperGreen in great surprise. And then, as he came nearer, he saw that the things on Mother =Spider's back were tiny baby spiders. "Aren't they beautiful children?" the proud mother asked. "I was so afraid that something would happen to my eggs, that I didn't once let go of the , bag they were in, except when that stupid Mr =Beetle knocked it out of my mouth." "Oh!" said =-GrasshopperGreen. "So that was what frightened you, was it? The bag was full of eggs ! And now you are carrying all those children on your back. Doesn't it tire you?" "I don't mind the weight," said Mother Spider, "if only the children are well and safe. In a little while, you know, they will be able to run about by themselves. Then we shall be very happy here in the meadow grass. Oh, a family like this is well worth the trouble." "Yes," said =GrasshopperGreen, "I have a dozen small boys of my own at home. And that reminds me that it is time to go home to breakfast. Good-bye, =NeighbourSpider." =Merriboy grew braver. As each nut was thrown to him, he snatched it and, sitting up saucily, slowly cracked the shell and broke the nut. He was busy at this when, suddenly looking up, he found that all the children had gone. This was strange; where could they be? He had not seen them as they tiptoed quietly away. When he had finished the last nut, he danced up to the class-room wall. Slowly he crept along it till he came to the door. Then he stopped and peeped shyly into the room. There were the children ! With heads bent busily over their work, they kept as quiet as mice, hoping that =Merriboy would come in. Just inside on the mat, a nut was waiting for him. He hopped quickly to the spot, picked up the nut, and carried it to the flower-bed, where he hid it in a little hole. This done, he turned and came back to the class-room, and there he found another nut waiting for him on the same spot. Five times he came back, and each time he carried away a prize. But the sixth time there was no nut on the mat. He sniffed and sniffed and looked carefully all about him. There on the floor, a short =Moses and his people took their flocks and herds and departed out of =Egypt. As soon as they had started, the king was sorry he had let them go, and he sent an army to bring them back. But =God watched over the people of =Israel, and they escaped, and the army of =Egypt was drowned in the sea. It was many years before the people of =Israel reached the land which became their home. They had to travel through great deserts and over high mountains. They had to fight many enemies. Often they lost their way. Often they were tired and hungry. They murmured against =Moses, who was their leader, and were ungrateful. But =Moses was a wise and good leader. When his people complained, he tried to make them see how grateful they should be because they had escaped from =Egypt. He gave them good laws and taught them to love God and lead good lives; and at last he brought them to the beautiful land which became their home. Sad to say, he himself never entered that land of promise. =ANDROCLES AND THE LION A kind deed is worth doing just for its own sake, but sometimes it brings a rich reward, as in this famous story. In the great city of =Rome, there lived many years ago a poor slave named =Androcles. Very terrible things he suffered at the hands of his cruel master, until, unable to bear his miseries any longer, he ran away and hid in the forests that lay beyond the city walls. But little could he find to eat in the woods, and each day growing weaker, he at last crept into a cave to die. Stretched upon the floor, he fell into a deep sleep, whence he was awakened by the roaring of a lion that entered the cave, limping, and in great pain. =Androcles saw that there was a large thorn in the lion's paw. Though much afraid, he took the paw in his hands and, with a quick, strong pull, drew out the thorn. At once the pain was eased. The lion licked =Androcles's hands, rubbed his head against him, and lay down at his feet. =Androcles was no longer afraid. That night, lion and slave slept side by side. Next morning the lion went out into the woods, but soon came back bringing with him THE LITTLE LADY'S ROSES But ds the tiny craft came nearer, the children saw that they were not boats, but roses. They had never seen such roses for color, size, and perfume. =John captured the red rose and =Mary the white one, and home they ran with their prizes. When their parents saw the roses, the father said, "By my Shovel and Hoe! If I could grow roses like that in my garden, I'd be a proud man!" And the mother cried, "Dear bless my =CherryTart! If I could have roses like those in the home, I'd be a glad woman!" Then the father asked, "Where did you get them, children?" "They came down the river from the top of the hill," said =John. "Ah!" sighed the father, "then they came from the little lady's rose garden, and are not for people like us." And he went out to hoe cabbages, while the mother rolled her paste. But =John and =Mary stole out of the cottage, and =John said to =Mary, "Let us find the little lady's rose garden, and beg her for a rose tree to make our parents proud and happy." THE BROOK THAT FOUND THE SEA It tried with all its might, but the tree would not budge. It held the brook back. At last the little brook cried out, "If I don't find some way to get past this log, it will turn me into a pond. I don't want to be a pond! Ponds stand still so long that at last they dry up, and they never find the sea." So the brook ran to one end of the log, but it could not get past. It ran to the other, and wriggled and twisted until it made a tiny crack. It kept on twisting until the little crack grew wider. At last, with a little shout, the brook forced its way through and left the log behind. "Now," it sang, "all my troubles are over, and I shall soon find the sea." Just then it came to a high cliff. "What shall I do now?" asked the brook. "If I leap down to those rocks, I may be dashed in spray and never get to the sea." Suddenly the brave little brook gave a running leap and went over the edge of the cliff . The rocks did dash the brook into rainbow colored spray that filled the air with mist for a while. But the little drops came together If but two hairs remained, they said, "Mother will expect us at two o'clock." When the children awoke in the morning, they saw the morning-glory cups peeping in at the windows. "Six o'clock ! Time to get up !" they said. "The morning glories are calling us." Every afternoon the four o'clock bloomed. Their red and white flowers told the children that their father would soon be home. In the evening the moon flowers unfolded their great white blossoms on the vines that clambered over the porch. "Now it is bedtime," said the children, "for the moon flowers are looking down at us." All day long the time flowers, like our clocks, are telling us the time of day. =KATELOUISEBROWN. THINKING ABOUT THE STORY Can you think, now, why the =Greeks called the sun a king? Perhaps it is that the sun rules the earth. This story tells us how he rules the flowers. It's the sun that makes the dandelions wake up. He makes the birds fly south in the fall, too. He makes us dress warmly in winter. Can you find ten other ways in which the sun rules the earth? That day that day When the little boy ran away. Then the wind played leap-frog over the hills And twisted each leaf and limb; And all the rivers and all the rills Were foaming mad with him; And it was dark as darkest night could be, But still came the wind's voice: "Follow me!" And over the mountain and up from the hollow Came echoing voices with "Follow him, follow!" That awful day When the little boy ran away. Then the little boy cried: "Let me go, let me go !" For a scared, scared boy was he ! But the thunder growled from the black cloud: "No!" And the wind roared: "Follow me!" And an old gray owl from a tree-top flew, Saying: "Who are you? who are you?" And the little boy sobbed: "I'm lost away, And I want to go home where my parents stay 1" In some places it is soft and green, like the long meadows between the hills. In other parts there are trees for miles and miles on every side. All kinds of wild animals live in the great forests that grow on this wonderful ball. Then, again, in some places it is steep and rough. And there are mountains so high that the snow lies upon their tops all the year round. In other parts there are no hills at all, but level land, and quiet little ponds of blue water. There the white water-lilies grow, and fishes play among the lily stems. Now if we look on another side of the ball, we shall see no ponds, but something very dreary. A great plain of sand stretches away on every side. There are no trees here, and the sunshine beats down upon the burning sand. We look again, and we see a great stretch of water. Many islands are in the sea, and great ships sail upon it. Look at one more side of this ball as it turns around. =JackFrost must have spent all his longest winter nights here. The rooster perched near the top of a tree, and the cat found a place on one of its big branches. Before they went to sleep the rooster saw a light in the forest. He called to his friends and told them what he saw. "It must come from a house," said the donkey. "Let us go on and see." "Yes," said the- dog. "I should like a good bone for my supper." When they reached the house, they saw that the light came from a very high window. "How can we see into the room?" said the cat. "I am not tall enough," said the dog. "Nor I," said the donkey. At last they thought of a plan. The donkey stood under the window, and the dog stood on his back. The cat climbed to the dog's back, and the rooster flew up on the cat's back. "What do you see?" asked the donkey. "What do I gee?" said the rooster. "I see four robbers eating at a table. They have bread and meat and many other good things." "That ought to be our supper," said the dog. "Yes, yes!" cried the cat. "I am so hungry that I cannot sleep." &&000 end of sample