&&000 CANADIAN SCHOOLBOOKS                                                           CA304.TXT
GRADE 4, 1930s-1945
Sampled in Toronto 9-10 Dec 2003 by dph
1st edit by dph 19 dec 03
RE-EDITED 20 JUNE 2005

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Who taught you to spin and weave so well?  someone asked.
" No one taught me," she said. " I learned how to do it as I sat in the sun and the shade."
It may be that =Athena, the queen of the air, taught you, and you did not know it."
"=Athena, the queen of the air? Nonsense! said =Arachne. "How could she teach me? Can she
spin such skeins of yarn as these? Can she weave goods like mine? I should like to see her try."
She looked up and saw in the doorway a tall woman wrapped in a long cloak. Her face was fair
to see, but stern, oh, so stern ! Her gray eyes were so sharp and bright that =Arachne could not
meet her gaze.
=Arachne," said the woman, " I am =Athena, the queen of the air, and I have heard your boast.
Do you still mean to say that I have not taught you how to spin and weave? "
"No one has taught me," said =Arachne. " I thank no one for what I know." She stood up, straight
and proud, by the side of her loom.
Do you still think that you can spin and weave as well as I ? " said =Athena.
=Arachne's cheeks grew pale, but she said : "Yes, I can weave as well as you,"


Comes stealing ; comes creeping ;
The poppies they hang from her head to her feet, And each has a dream that is tiny and fleet.  She
brings her poppies to you, my sweet,.
When she finds you sleeping !
There is one little dream of a beautiful drum. 
" Rub-a-dub ! " it goes ;
There is one little dream of a big sugar-plum, And lo! thick and fast the other dreams come Of
pop-guns that bang, and tin tops that hum,
And a trumpet that blows!
And dollies peep out of those wee little dreams
With laughter and singing;
And boats go a-floating on silvery streams,
And the stars peek-a-boo with their own misty
gleams,
And up, up and up, where the Mother Moon beams,
The fairies go winging !
Would you dream all these dreams that are tiny and fleet ?
They'll come to you sleeping;



At that moment =Antonio's grandfather joined the group.
" Let the boy try," he said. " He knows something of stone cutting. It can do you no harm to give
him a chance. You may find he can help you."
The servants agreed to let the boy try.


=Antonio chose from the kitchen table a large square of yellow butter. Using a kitchen knife he
began to carve. The astonished servants watched, as, under the boy's skillful hands, the butter
took the shape of a sleeping lion. When it was finished =Antonio stepped back.
" Will that do? " he asked.
"'Do!" cried the man who had broken the Count's statue. " That is better than the one I broke !
How pleased the Count will be ! "
Not only the Count, but all the guests at the dinner admired the yellow lion.
" What artist carved that for you? " they asked.
" I do not know, myself," said the Count.
He rang for a servant.
" Where did we buy this statue?
"
"It was carved in your own kitchen," was the answer.
 Send me the artist, cried the Count.


In Switzerland boys take the goats up the mountainside to the best pasture lands. Our story tells
us of the brave deed performed by one of these boys.
=Moni opened the gate of the field and let the goats out. They must now make their way up the
rocks to pasture. The trail was quite steep and there was many a danger spot of which they must
beware. =Moni, however, knew a fairly safe path and he trusted his goats. He led the way and
gaily the goats followed. =Maggerli, the baby goat, kept close to his side. When the boy had to
pass any very dangerous place, he gently held the little goat and guided it safely along.
Everything went well, and the whole group arrived at the top, safe and sound. Leaping away, the
goats ran to the green bushes. They knew where to find the best food for they had climbed here
many times before.
" Take your time ; don't be so wild ! " came =Moni's warning. " Don't push each other off the
rocks ! " " Swallow, look out ! What has come into your head? " he shouted to the rocks above
him.


Now I must paint a picture for myself," he thought. "The flowers have come to help me."

He stood very still for a few moments, very grave and thoughtful for so young a boy.

Then =TitianVecelli set to work. All by himself in the shade of the cottage wall, he squeezed and
stained as best he could with his fingers and a little stick. Thus he painted his first picture many
years ago.

The cicada sang, unheeded, and the beautiful flowers drooped. The family came home and,
because they did not see him busy in the shade of the wall, they wondered where he was.

Very slowly on the dull bare wall a picture came to life. Figures seemed to spring out by magic
under the small deft fingers of the boy. His cheeks grew hot and his eyes brilliant with the joy of
accomplishment. Inside there were bread and cheese and chicken and probably macaroni, but
although Titian was a boy, and a very real boy, he forgot to be hungry. In fact, he forgot
everything but the delight of a dream come true.
He was so very busy that he did not see his father come up behind him and stand with hands



ROBIN HOOD FINDS A REFUGE
Now it chanced one day that =RobinHood was hunting in =Sherwood forest all alone. His merry
men all were far away.
Then along came the proud Sheriff, with a great company of his followers. They were hunting for
=RobinHood. Prince =John had offered a great sum of gold to the man who should bring 
=RobinHood to him unhurt.
But =RobinHood spied the =Sheriff before the Sheriff spied =RobinHood.
" What shall I do? " cried =RobinHood. " There is no place where I may hide."
Then =RobinHood saw the little cottage of the merry old woman. Many times had =RobinHood
helped her, and brought her gifts.  But she was poor, and her cottage had but one room.
It is a small place in which to hide," quoted =RobinHood, "but I'll see what the little old woman
can do. There is no time to choose one's shelter."
So straightway he ran to the cottage and looked in at the open door. There was the merry old
woman dancing, and curtsying, and singing
Hey down, down., ans a down!


He scrambled for the shore as fast as he could, dragging the dreadful thing along with him, while
the old Raccoons hurried in from the river and =LittleSister jumped down from the pile of
driftwood on which she had been sitting.
" It's only a small clam," the Raccoon father said in relief when he saw it. " You got your paw
inside its open shell and it snapped shut and caught you. There ! " he said prying open the
mussel-shell and releasing =Ringtail's paw. " It will hurt for awhile, but you will soon be all right
again."
" How soon? " =Ringtail asked anxiously.
" In a day or so," his father told him. "And the next time you must not be in such a hurry. You
had better not try to fish any more to-night," he added. " Just stay here beside =LittleSister, and I
will bring you your supper."
=Ringtail lay down on the sandy beach and licked his throbbing paw, whimpering softly.
Clams, he knew now, were one of the Dangers of the river.
How many more were there? he wondered.


Looking eagerly out of the doorway. Never, it seemed to him, had the twilight been so long in
coming.
But it did come at last, and the Raccoon family set off through the bushes, the Raccoon father
and mother walking ahead, with =Ringtail and his sister following close behind.
From his perch in a low oak tree, an Owl looked solemnly down at them as they passed along,
turning his head slowly to follow them with his great eyes until they were out of sight.
" May I begin to fish right away? " =Ringtail asked when at last they stood by the water's edge.
" No," his father said, " you had better watch me first to see how it is done."

The old Raccoon waded out a little way into the stream and began to feel about under the water
with his front paws. Almost at once he returned to the bank holding a fine big clam in his mouth.
" You got one ! " =Ringtail cried. " You got one, didn't you? "
" I always get one," his father told him quietly. "And now you must watch me closely while I
open



great fight," he continued gratefully, "for I had no place to hide. I always jump into the water if I
am chased, but, as you can see, there is no water here. Really, there was nothing I could do but
wait for the lynx to spring.".
He shuddered a little and looked anxiously round as he spoke. The little porcupine, however, did
not seem at all disturbed by his adventure. " Quills are the best things to have in time of danger,"
he stated, " but if  water you want, you haven't
far to go for it. There is some in the valley, just below the brow of the hill yonder."

" Oh, I am so glad ! " =FlatTail exclaimed. " I knew there must be water near here, for I heard the
frogs singing .. Do you live down there, =Porcupine? "
" Certainly not ! " came the scornful answer. " I live here in a cave on the hillside."
" I live in a lodge on a little island," =Flat Tail told him. " We have a burrow, too, and. "
" I am not interested," the porcupine interrupted, as he bit a piece of bark from the hemlock tree.
" Besides, I am hungry now and I don't like to be bothered when I am at my meals."


kitchen door for pickings, and on getting something, they go quietly back to the woods.
Doubtless =Johnny and =Grumpy would have had their tarts if the situation had not been
changed recently.
That week the hotel people had brought a new cat from the east.. She was not much more than a
kitten, but still she had a litter of her own, and, at the moment =Grumpy reached the door, the cat
and her family were sunning themselves on the top step. =Pussy opened her eyes to see a huge,
shaggy monster towering above her.
The cat had never before seen a bear -she had not been there long enough. She did not even know
what a bear was. She had met dogs, and here, coming right at her, was a bigger, more awful,
bobtailed, black dog than she had ever dreamed could exist. Her first thought was to fly for her
life. But her next was for the kittens. She must take care of them. Like a brave little mother, she
braced herself on that door-step, and spreading her back, her claws, her tail, and everything she
had to spread, she screamed out at that bear an unmistakable order to STOP!
The language must have been " Cat," but the meaning was clear to the bear ; for those who saw.



" Come, we shall have some fun now ! " thought =Alice. " I'm glad they've begun asking riddles. 
I believe I can guess that," she added aloud.
" Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it? " said the =MarchHare.
" Exactly so," said =Alice.
"Then you should say what you mean," the =MarchHare went on.
" I do," =Alice hastily replied ; " at least  at least I mean what I say  that's the same thing, you
know."
" Not the same thing a bit ! " said the =Hatter. " Why you might just as well say that ` I see what I
eat' is the same thing as  I eat what I see  ! "
" You might just as well say," added the =MarchHare, " that ` I like what I get is the same thing
as ` I get what I like! "
You might just as well say," added the =Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in its sleep, " that `
I breathe when I sleep' is the same thing as ` I sleep when I breathe  ! "
It is the same thing with you," said the =Hatter. Here the conversation dropped, and the party sat
silent for a minute, while =Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and
writing-desks, which wasn't much.



When =Peggy reached the highway, she was breathless and trembling from her run. She stood
and looked anxiously up and down. There was not a soul in sight. The highway had never been
so deserted. What should she do? It was a long way to =Greenwood and home. Before she could
reach there =Paul would be tired hanging to those rocks. He would fall and it was so far to the
ground. =Peggy's eyes filled with helpless tears, and sobs shook her. Then, through the tears, she
saw an automobile coming down the highway. The driver was Dr =Allen. =Peggy had never been
so glad to see Dr =Allen. She stood on the highway and waved her hands frantically and shouted
at the top of her lungs : " Dr =Allen! Stop! Stop! " "What if he didn't stop ?
But Dr =Allen did. He threw on his brakes so suddenly that his little car almost turned a
somersault, before it came to an abrupt standstill.

What's the trouble? " Dr =Allen called, leaning out of his car.
 It's Paul," sobbed =Peggy. " He's on the rocks and he can't get up or down. He, he's holding on,"



It would be unfair to call =BillyButter an ordinary goat. He has a character of his own as you will
see in the story. =GabrielMarino worked on the railroad. =BillyButter was his pampered goat,
spoiled, I am afraid, by the =Marino children. Certainly =Billy liked to have his own way. Often
he gave the dog =Jack a very bad time of it. =Billy and =Jack slept in the stable yard which lay
near a cliff, high above the stone quarry and the railway tracks. More than once =Jack had to
make a wild dash to keep from being butted playfully over the cliff! That was all in the way of
friendship, =Billy thought. 

One cold morning, shortly after =Papa =Marino had gone to work, =BillyButter got to his feet.
The sun was struggling to break through clouds of fog, and =Jack was not to be seen. His barking
could be heard faintly in the distance. =Billy stamped his fore feet. Walking to the latched yard
gate, he jabbed it roughly with his. horn, and by an odd chance lifted the latch. The gate swung
open. =BillyButter did not rush, not he. Cocking a rather impudent tail in the air and pulling his
chin in until his whiskers brushed his neck, he stalked


But the chickens had gone as quietly as they had come. Minutes passed, and still =Sally held
firmly to the rope. She prayed silently in her heart, and set her mind against the thought of defeat.
Suddenly from behind her came the grassy whispering of small feet. =Sally dared not turn her
head to look. She could only hold her breath and wait, while she listened to the dry grasses
rustling and hoped for a hungrier flock than had come before.
She was afraid to move even her head. The faintest sound might startle them. The faintest sigh
might send them scattering.
Now they were in sight. There were more than a dozen this time. She tried to count the big gray
shapes. They stopped and looked at the skirt. A hen stepped aside and uttered frightened
warnings. Another, bolder than the rest, began pecking at the pile of corn under the hoop. In an
instant the others followed. Another moment and almost the entire flock were under the hoop.

Quickly =Sally released the rope. The - hoop dropped with a thud. Two of the chickens
scampered squawking from underneath it as it fell.

going farther west where there was land to be taken up.
Behind =Sally, the air was thick with dust as the horses made their way along the crooked wagon
trail. Mr. Martin walked beside the wagon, now
and then patting the tired cow, or urging on the horses with words of encouragement. On the
other side of the horses, strode =Melissa. =Melissa was eighteen. Straggling behind =Melissa
came =Ben and =George. =Ben was sixteen, two years older than =Sally, and =George was
younger. On the sides of the wagon the hoop skirts, which the girls and Mrs =Martin had taken
along, gleamed like silver in the bright sunlight. " Nonsense," Mr =Martin had called it. But he
had smiled good-naturedly as he looped the three hoop skirts separately over the outside of the
canvas with a piece of rope. =Sally, however, was not thinking about her hoop skirt, even though
it did give her a sense of grownup-ness to own one. She was thinking of her stomach. She had
wanted more food at noon. Now, with the mid-afternoon sun beating down on the prairie as
though intent on bleaching the very earth of it, =Sally began to feel queer and dizzy.


"Thank you, young man of the fair face, for saving my life. What can I do to show my gratitude? 
"Bring me the ring, the magic ring, at the bottom of the river," commanded =Tatlo quickly.
The fish at once dived to the bottom of the
river and brought up the ring. Much pleased, =Tatlo placed the ring upon his finger, and the
fish disappeared. :

Overjoyed at his good fortune, =Tatlo forgot his hunger and again set out upon his journey.
During the afternoon he came to a great crag that jutted out from the side of the mountain. In a
hole near the foot, =Tatlo saw a young bird sitting in a nest. As he was very hungry, he thought
he would cook it for his supper. When he was about to seize it, the bird stretched out its neck,
opened its wide mouth, and seemed to cry
" Oh, I am hungry ! I am hungry ! Please give me something to eat."
=Tatlo at once took what little food he had,
dropped some into the young bird's mouth, placed
some more close beside the nest, and went on his way.

The next day =Tatlo was so weak from lack of
food that he could scarcely walk. He lay down by
the side of the road to rest. 



The people of both settlements thought that =LittleDonald was an odd person, but any of them
would have told you that he was a good-hearted body, and one of the very best weavers to be
found in the country. =Donald owned seven sheep, seven hens, and one cow, which had seven
rings on either horn ; and every spring he planted seven rows of potatoes in his little field. The
boys said that seven crows lived in the big hemlock tree beside his cottage.
=Donald was very fond of his sheep and hens and cow. But what he loved most of all was his
=Gaelic Bible. It was said that he could recite from memory the =119th Psalm, which has =176
verses.
There were some folk who said they believed that =Donald loved his silver snuff-box more than
he loved his =Gaelic Bible. I am sure they were wrong. But the little man did treasure the
snuffbox greatly. 

It was a silver snuff-box, and there was a rainbow engraved on the cover. Everyone who met
=Donald knew how he had obtained the pretty trinket in which he took such pride. No one could
talk long.

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