&&000 CANADIAN SCHOOLBOOKS                                                                    CA604.TXT
GRADE 4, 1960s
Sampled from OISE/UT Toronto 9-10 Dec 2003 by dph
1st edited by dph 20 Dec 2003
re-edited 21 June 2005

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have cut the farthest and the fastest. But of course the blue sashes will win because the tree will
fall to the north."
Next morning the =Montreal =LeBlancs and the =Quebec =LeBlancs trudged on their snowshoes
to the tall pine tree on the hill.
The =Montreal =LeBlancs took quick turns chopping on the north side, and the =Quebec
=LeBlancs took quick turns chopping on the south side. Even the unlucky =Elphege had no
trouble with his axe.
The strength and speed of the =LeBlancs was so equally divided that even when their axes met in
the middle, the tree still stood. It was too evenly balanced to fall either way.
But a little gray squirrel, awakened from his winter sleep by the axe blows, went racing up to his
hole to look out. His hole was on the south side. The weight of the squirrel set the tree to
shaking. Slowly the top began to lean over.
"We have won," cried a red sash. "Run for your Lives ! "
The red-sashed =LeBlancs ran so fast that the tree missed everyone but that unlucky =Elphege.
The lace on his snowshoes came loose and tripped him up. A big branch knocked him to the
ground and bruised his arms and broke his snowshoe in two.
"The squirrel cheated," cried =Henri.
"It was unfair," shouted another blue sash. "Those =Quebec =LeBlancs must have put the squirrel
inside the tree."
"Save your breath for the spring," said old =PaulLeBlanc. "A woodsman must be good with a
canoe paddle. When the river opens we will have a canoe race to the =StLawrence. First canoe to
reach it carries the best =LeBlancs."
It did not take too long for spring to come because the =LeBlancs were kept so busy all winter.
Only unlucky =Elphege did not work well because his arms were still stiff from the blow they
had received from the falling tree.
The =LeBlancs set out in two great birch canoes that spring; one full of red sashes and the other
full of blue sashes.
"Away!" cried =ElphegeLeBlanc, the last one to step into his canoe.


Gradually the sky appeared at the top of the little clearing his father had made by cutting down
the trees. Finally the day came when the logs he had so carefully trimmed of branches were rolled
by his father into the centre of the clearing and laid one on top of the other to make the walls of
the cabin. =John loved to watch his father notch the ends of the white logs so that they would
hold tight and firm.
Once, just before he fell asleep, he heard his mother say to his father, "Don't you think this is too
hard for a ten year old?" And he heard his father say, "Nonsense, =Mary, look at the lad."
When the cabin was finished it looked so clean and new standing there in the wide clearing with
its smooth peeled log walls and the sweet smelling cedar shingles that =John's father couldn't
help showing the pride he felt.
Laughing, he swung =John's mother around the big empty room which echoed to their noise.
=John's father stopped at last and turned to face his son who had been standing silently through
all the celebration.
"What's the matter, son. Don't you like our new cabin?"
"It's all right, I guess," =John answered.
"Lad, you have done a good job these last three weeks. Neither your mother nor I could have
done it without your help. We know that you miss =York and your friends. How would you like
to have =James come out here for a few days?"
"Oh =Dad, could I ?"
"I think we could arrange it. The man who drove the wagon goes by here tomorrow and he could
bring =James out on his next trip. We will send a letter with him to =James' people and I think
they will agree."
=John took the letter tip to the road the next day and the teamster promised to deliver it and bring
back the passenger. John could hardly wait for the next few days to pass.



with their feet-and rose in heavy, wobbly flight into the wind then, gaining altitude, up and across
the lake and around and around the smoky sky, in an ecstasy of freedom.
"=Honk-woak-back  "
Obediently the young banked in the sun, wings stiffening to break the heavy landing. They
skidded a bit in the water, then lined up again, impatient for the starting signal.
When I edged down through the dry bushes to the south of the lake, my four wheeled toward me
noisily. They landed out in the deep water, then swam over to me. =Tiny climbed up on my
boots.
Then, from the middle of the lake, came =Abraham's stern command. "=Honk-woak". He was
telling them the time for play was over.
Obediently my four young honked back, their voices still without the trumpet note.   
Soon there were unmistakable signs of fall in the air. The ducks were thinning on =MoonLake,
but not a goose, had left-on account of =Abraham's wing.
I had almost forgotten that, till one day the geese went into an emergency session. By this time all
the young geese were taking long flights daily, filling the sky with bugling-the real sign of their
coming of age.
But that day, old and young alike were lined up in the middle of the lake. =Abraham and his
family were at the north end.
=Biddy, this time, sounded the takeoff call. The eight of them swam like mad, spattered with
their
feet, lifted with their wings but only seven of them got into the air. =Abraham's left wing couldn't
support his weight. The older ganders honked to =Abraham not to let this thing get him down.
For a week they encouraged and rallied him. But it was no use.
Finally came the day when =Abraham named a new flock leader and bade farewell to all his old
friends.


"What do you make this time?" asked =Sala.
"You shall see," replied his grandfather with a smile.
Sala coaxed and coaxed but =Akumalik would not tell. So at last =Sala gave up asking, but he
did not give up watching the white piece of ivory in the old man's hands. As the two of them
talked together he looked and looked, but what it was going to be he could not guess.
Every day =Akumalik worked on his carving. Sometimes, he even neglected the harnesses and
the guns. But no one in the igloo asked him any more questions. They were pleased to see that he
was busy and happy.
The work went very slowly. The old man had only a knife, a file, and a small piece of sandpaper
with which to work. Then, too, because of the dimness of his eyes, he had to hold the work close
to his face. But he did not give up.
As the weeks passed, =Sala could see that the carving was made up of many parts. There was a
smooth flat piece, three more that were small and rounded, and a great many tiny parts that
looked like bits of twigs. Still the boy had no idea what it could be.
Now his mother began to smile knowingly as she tended the oil lamp. She would laugh to see the
puzzled look on the face of her son. After that =Akumalik only worked on his carving when Sala
was gone from the igloo. He was afraid that the boy, too, would guess what he was making.
The nights grew longer and longer until there was only a small bit of sunlight each day. Then
slowly the days grew longer and the nights a little less. Sala could see that his noonday shadow
grew shorter, as each day the sleepy-looking sun climbed higher in. the sky. The whole Arctic
land lay buried under the snow. The north wind blew over the frozen sea. But =Sala only laughed
because he knew that spring was on its way.
Then one night when he came in for his supper of seal meat, his grandfather had a surprise for
him. It was a small parcel wrapped in a piece of rabbit skin.

=Ahman saw sambar deer feeding on a grassy slope. He saw a
black panther slinking towards the rocks like a black shadow. And
in the tall grass that grew in the nullah they came suddenly upon
terrible fury-the royal tiger. Spitting and growling, the great
jungle cat backed off, then fled through the tall grass.
"Who is the real lord of the jungle?" =Ahman cried after it.
=DajooBan set up a mighty trumpeting, as if to answer the
question, and Ahman laughed until his sides hurt.
"In camp I am small and unimportant. But when I am with you, big brother, I feel truly like the
prince of all the jungle."
As the sun climbed high in the sky they headed for the river. Suddenly =Ahman slid down the
gray face of his elephant, caught hold of one of the huge tusks, and dropped to the ground.
"Too slow, big brother. Too slow!"
He was off in a flash, running as hard as he could up the path. With a shrill trumpet of delight
=DajooBan gave chase, his big ears back, his trunk straight out in front of him. He could easily
have caught up with =Ahman but for the loose chain hobbles on his legs.
=Ahman at last reached the rim of the high bank beside the river and slid down into the water.
Behind him came an avalanche as =DajooBan followed, for an elephant likes nothing better than
sliding down a bank on the seat of his pants.
They swam and played for a while in the water. Then the day grew hot and they found the cool
shade of the jungle, where =Ahman stretched out on the cool earth and soon fell fast asleep.
Almost above him, sleeping in his own way, stood the mighty tusker, swaying gently from side to
side as elephants do.
It was almost evening when =Ahman slipped quietly into camp. As usual, none had noticed his
absence or seemed to care. He learned that no pictures had been taken in camp that day.
"All the men took their cameras into the jungle again," =Byoo explained. "They said they were
going to take pictures of wild animals."



we can't keep that ridiculous polliwog of =David's any longer. It's MUCH too big. And I don't
believe it will ever be a frog anyway!"
=David was getting quite tired of changing the water in the big tank with the garden hose every
few days, and of running around the Village with his red bucket collecting bread and scraps from
all the neighbors to feed the hungry whale, who ate a great deal. And the whale was growing all
the time. Day by day he was getting bigger and he was getting stronger.
So =David telephoned to =Tony, the =ExpressMan, to bring up his truck. And he telephoned to
=Nick, the Garage Man, to bring his wrecking car, and all together they hoisted the whale onto
the truck by means of the derrick on the wrecking car. They pinned wet bath towels around his
Bead to keep him from drying out on the ride.
=David climbed up on the driver's seat beside =Tony the Express Man and they went down the
hill to the Village. They went past the Grocery Store and past the Butcher Store and past the
Drugstore and past the Post Office and past the Railroad Station till they came to Mister
=Barlow's Hardware Store. There =David bought a very long strong chain, and then they drove
the whale down to the wharf that stuck out into the river. They hooked the whale to the wharf
with the chain around his tail because he hadn't any neck, and =David promised to come down
every day to visit him.
Every day =David's father drove him down to the wharf and =David whistled to his whale. The
whale came up close alongside the wharf and blew lovely fountains for =David. He was a very
happy and comfortable whale, swimming around the wharf and eating fresh fish right out of the
river, and sleeping under the wharf at night like a dog in his kennel. He was a great pet with all
the people in the Village. The Grocer brought his three little boys to see him, and the Butcher
brought his little girl, and the Postman brought his twins, and the old Station Agent who sold
railroad tickets for train rides brought his little golden-haired grandchild.



She slept and dreamed that =Boxer was holding a tin of milk over his nose and growling: "More!
More!" A chair leg poked her awake and she knew then it was not =Boxer, but her father snoring.
"That's all right then," said =Andalusa, and got up and felt her way, tiptoeing, down into the
kitchen.
The moon was shining outside the uncurtained window, and the whole room was bright.
=Andalusa looked in the cupboard and counted seven tins of milk, including the one =Hester had
opened for her tea. She took a basket, climbed on a chair, and reached for the tins. What else? A
can opener from the table drawer. Could she open this? A small girl who could already ride
standing on a pony was not to be stopped by such a small thing as a can opener.
Then her eyes fell on =Hester's big cakes, set in the windowsill, covered with a white cloth. One
by one those cakes went into the basket, till it was full to the handle. And then she carefully
opened the back door and stepped out into the moonlight.
"Isn't this a treat!" said =Andalusa.
=Boxer was not asleep. He was still sitting against the back wall staring into space. The thick
straw glittered, and his eyes shone in the moonlight.
"You'll be dead by morning if you won't eat," said =Andalusa crossly.
She put down her basket, tipped sweet milk over a piece of cake and held it between the bars.
"Come on," she said, "try this, it's good."
"Haven't you got any sense?" asked= Andalusa. "It's good, I tell you."
She might have been talking to a stone.
To prove how good it was, she pulled back her hand and took a bite herself; then another bite.
But that wouldn't do! She hadn't come out to eat, but to feed =Boxer. She took aim, flung the
sticky cake through the bars, and hit =Boxer on the nose.



"Oh, ow! " said =Molly, shrinking. "What's the =WolfPit? What a name ! "
=Betsy laughed. She tried to make her laugh sound brave like Cousin =Ann's, which always
made it seem silly to be afraid. As a matter of fact, she was beginning to fear that they had made
the wrong turn, and she was not quite sure that she could find the way home. But she put this out
of her mind and walked along very fast, looking ahead into the woods. "It hasn't anything to do
with wolves," she said in answer to =Molly's question. "Anyhow, not now. It's just a big, deep
hole in the ground where a brook had dug out a cave . Uncle =Henry told me all about it when
he showed it to me     and then part of the roof caved in; sometimes there's ice in the corner of the
covered part all the summer, Aunt =Abigail says."
"Why do you call it the =WolfPit?" asked =Molly, walking very closely to =Betsy and holding
very tightly to her hand.  "Oh, long, ever so long ago, when the first settlers came up here, they
heard a wolf howling all night. When it didn't stop in the morning, they came up here on the
mountain and found a wolf had fallen in and couldn't get out."
"I hope they killed him!" said =Molly.
"Gracious! That was more than a hundred years ago," said =Betsy. She was not thinking of what
she was saying. She was thinking that if they were on the right road they ought to be home by this
time. She was thinking that the right road ran downhill to the house all the way, and that this
certainly seemed to be going up a little. She was wondering what had become of =Shep. "Stand
here just a minute, =Molly," she said. "I want    I just want to go ahead a little bit and see    and
see."  She darted on around a curve of the road and stood still, her heart sinking. The road turned
there and led straight up the mountain. For just a moment the little girl wanted to scream for
Aunt =Frances, and to run crazily away, anywhere so long as she was running. But the thought of
=Molly standing back there, trustfully.



"Wait a minute! Wait a minute, =Molly," she called wildly down the pit, warm all over in
excitement. "Now, listen. You go off there in a corner, where the ground makes a sort of roof. I'm
going to throw down something you can climb up on, maybe."
"=Ow! =Ow, it'll hit me!" cried poor little =Molly, more and more frightened. But she scrambled
off under her shelter, while =Betsy struggled with the branch. It was so firmly frozen in the snow
that at first she could not move it all. But after she cleared that away and tugged at it, she bore
down with all her might, throwing her weight on it again and again. Finally, she felt the big
branch move. After that it was easier, as its course was downhill over the snow to the mouth of
the pit. With great effort, =Betsy dragged the branch to the pit. It took all her strength to shove it
over the edge. It went down sharp end first and stuck fast in the snow. She was so out of breath
with her work that for a moment she could not speak. Then, "=Molly, there ! Now climb up to
where I can reach you." =Molly climbed like a squirrel, up from one stub to another to the top of
the branch. She was still below the edge of the pit there, but =Betsy lay flat down on the snow
and held out her hands. =Molly took hold hard, and, digging her toes into the snow, slowly
worked her way up to the surface of the ground.
It was then, at that very moment, that =Shep came bounding up to them, barking loudly, and after
him Cousin =Ann with a lantern in her hand and an anxious look on her face.
She stopped short and looked at the two little girls, covered with snow, and at the black hole
gaping behind them. "I always told Father we ought to put a fence around that pit," she said in a
matter-of-fact voice. "Some day a sheep's going to fall down there. =Shep came along to the
house without you, and we thought most likely you'd taken the wrong turn."
=Betsy was very upset. She wanted to be petted and praised for 


might at least have put =Susan in her stroller and gone down to watch it. Well    it was too late
now. Already the exciting band music was growing fainter as the parade passed the corner and
turned down =Central Street.
She heard =Susan calling her and went inside. The baby was just waking up from her nap. She
held out her arms to her big sister, her wide blue eyes smiling.
"Up-up! " she said, and =Peggy lifted her from her crib and took her down to the kitchen where
she sat her in the high chair, and gave her some dinner. Then she fixed a sandwich for herself,
and with a glass of milk, she sat down at the kitchen table. She stared out of the window as she
ate. It seemed very quiet for a Saturday     she guessed everyone had gone somewhere.
"Down-down! " ordered =Susan. =Peggy washed her sticky hands and put her in her playpen.
Just then the phone rang. It was Mrs =Smithers, who lived a few doors below on the same street.
She sounded excited. "=Peggy, are you all alone with the baby?" she asked .
"Yes mam, I am," =Peggy answered her, surprised. "Why?"
"Well, don't you go outdoors. It just came over the radio that one of the circus lions has escaped
from its cage."
"My goodness!" gasped =Peggy. "How did that happen?"
"The cage tipped over somehow just as the parade was turning the corner.    Just below here.
no telling how savage it is, and it might come this way. Don't you take the baby out till they
capture it, will you?"  "No, indeed," Peggy promised. She replaced the phone with shivers
chasing up and down her spine. A live lion! He wouldn't come as close to houses as this, most
likely. Still  she'd better go out and hook the porch screen door. The hook was loose and it was
always corning open.
She trotted out to the front of the house. She opened the front door and threw both her hands to
her face to stop a scream.


as curious as a kitten. Early morning would often find her in the kitchen watching the way the
giant spits turned, roasting the beef for lunch, or out in the gardens watching the petals of the
flowers unfold toward the rising sun. Some days she would sit in the leafy fragrant shade and
watch the plows turn the moist black earth in long furrows. She would be at hand when the
young girls of the kingdom trod the purple grapes in the huge vats. Her laughter would ring out
with theirs and when she was sure none of the elder members of the court was present, she too
would kick off her shoes and join the others trampling the grapes until her legs were stained
purple and she was weak with laughter.
Whenever illness struck a cottage she would be there soothing fevered heads with her cool hands
and soft words. Even fretting babies stopped their cries when she raised them from their cribs and
rocked them in her arms. If the people of the village loved and respected the king, they adored his
daughter, their =SunPrincess.
So life continued in this pleasant kingdom for many years. The king grew older and the Princess
grew in beauty and understanding until one day the thing happened that everyone dreaded, the
king most of all. A trumpeter in blue and gold appeared in the town square before the palace,
raised his long horn to his lips and loosed peal after peal that found their way to even the
remotest corner of this tiny kingdom. When all the people had assembled, including the king and
fair =Flavia, the trumpeter announced in ringing tones that the Prince of =Europe and his retinue
would be the guests of the king for the next week, and that the Prince had heard of the great
beauty and charm of the Princess =Flavia, and that he wished to see if she would be suitable for
his bride.
At these words, an angry mutter rolled from the throats of the people. How could any man dare
take the =SunPrincess from them. But the mutter died quickly under the arrogant stare of the
trumpeter, and in the knowledge that the Prince of =Europe was a powerful man who
commanded huge armies, and their kingdom

"Poetry!" =Peter choked. "I get plenty of that in school!"
"So I expect you to take =Allan to the =BirdSanctuary tomorrow," his father said breaking in on
his thoughts. =Peter knew it was an order.
"But why does it have to be me all the time? Why can't someone else take a turn being his eyes?"
=Peter wanted to know.
"Just seems to be you he looks to. And maybe that's the best sign there is that you're the one who
has been chosen."
"Chosen what?"
"Call it what you want. =Brother'sKeeper is what =Cain called it.
"All right. I'll take him," =Peter said.
He told =Allan about the plans for next day. "We'll bring a good big lunch," he said. "It's a long
walk out to the =Sanctuary."
But no sooner had he said it than a couple of boys'  came up on their bikes. "We're starting ball
practice tomorrow," they said. "Down behind the store. Are you trying out for pitcher again this
year?"
So there it was. The one ball practice in all the year that =Peter could not afford to miss, and he
had promised to help a fellow go hunting for stuff to put in a poem! =Peter decided that he
wouldn't exactly break his promise; he'd just take =Allan out to =Duckle's instead. That was on
the
road to the Sanctuary but only a quarter of the way. There was a wood out there where a fellow
could take a BB gun and pick off bullfrogs or blackbirds or squirrels. They could get back in
time for the ball practice.
"You tell the boys I'll be there," he told his brother. "I might be late, but I'll show up."
So the next day =Peter took =Allan out to =Duckle's place. A squirrel came out to take a look at
theta as soon as they got there.
Quickly =Peter pushed =Allan behind a maple tree, gave his BB gun four pumps and drew a bead
on the squirrel.
"Would you like to try it?" he asked =Allan. 
Then he noticed that =Allan did not have his finger on the trigger any more.
"Don't you want to shoot him?" =Peter asked.
=Allan gulped. "It seems so sort of awful to think that just one little press of one finger can
change things so quickly, doesn't it, =Peter?"
=Peter unloaded the gun.
"It's all right," he said. "If a guy doesn't like to shoot a squirrel, it's all right."
Down the road, from the direction of the store, came a sudden burst of excited voices. The ball
players had begun to arrive. =Peter started and turned as if to catch a glimpse of the scene.
=Allan stretched out under the tree on his back and the squirrel settled himself on a branch and
started scolding them. "What color is he, =Peter?" =Allan asked.
=Peter was still looking in the direction of the store. "He's a red squirrel," he said crossly. Then
he remembered something he had been going to ask =Allan for quite a while now. "Say, =Allan,
how can you know what a color is like anyhow? You wouldn't remember colors! How do you
know red or brown or anything else?"
=Allan put his hands under his head. "I guess a fellow gets so he can feel colors, maybe," he said.
"You take green. That's the way the grass feels and smells when you walk on it."
Another shout came up from the diamond. =Peter rolled over onto his elbows and closed his eyes
as if his pain were too great.
=Allan sat up. "I don't think you're listening," he said.
"I am too," =Peter declared sharply. "Go on. Tell me what yellow is."
"You'd sooner be down at that ball game," =Allan said.
"If I wanted to be there, I'd be there. Now what's yellow?" =Allan lay back again. "Yellow?
Yellow is the way you feel.

&&000