&&000 AMERICAN BOOK CO.  (1936)   6TH GRADE       AMR9366T.ASC
WINNING OUR WAY by Leavell Breckenridge et al
Source: Columbia TC xerox scan edit by DPH May 10, 1993

&&111


and soon reached =Long Island =Sound where the
=Curtiss =Oriole with its photographer, which had been
escorting me, turned back.
The haze soon cleared, and from =Cape =Cod through
the southern half of =Nova =Scotia the weather and
visibility were excellent. I was flying very low,
sometimes as close as ten feet from the trees and
water.
On the three =hundred mile stretch of water between
=Cape =Cod and =Nova =Scotia I passed within view of
numerous fishing vessels.
The northern part of =Nova =Scotia contained a
number of storm areas and several times I flew
through cloudbursts.
As I neared the northern coast, snow appeared in
patches on the ground, and far to the eastward the
coastline was covered with fog.
For many miles between =Nova =Scotia and  
=Newfoundland the ocean was covered with caked ice; but
as I approached the coast the ice disappeared  
entirely and I saw several ships in this area.
I had taken up a course for =Saint =Johns, which is
south of the great circle from =New =York to =Paris, so
that there would be no question of the fact that I had
passed =Newfoundland in case I was forced down in
the north =Atlantic.



of their gods. =Mount =Sinai was sacred to the  
=Hebrews. To the =Japanese, =Mount =Fujiyama was a god
having the power of life and death over the dwellers
of the islands. One mountain headland after  
another on =Mediterranean shores was used as a  
guidepost, first by =Phoenician, and later by =Greek and
=Roman sailors. In a similar way, homebound  
seamen on the =Pacific have frequently changed the
course of their ships by the  silver summit  of
=Mount =Rainier. Highway travelers today try to
catch a glimpse of its radiance which, on a clear day,
may be seen a distance of one =hundred and =fifty miles.
Mount =Rainier is one of a family of old volcanoes,
which rise from the =Cascade =Mountains. Most  
important among the members of this family are =Mount
=Shasta in =California; =Mount =Hood in =Oregon;
=Mount Street =Helens, =Mount =Adams, and =Mount =Baker
in =Washington, . Each wears a cap of ice the year
around. =Thousands of years ago, when the continent
of =American was being formed, these volcanoes were
active. They must have stood like giant torches,
casting glows on the heavens that could be seen for
miles on land and sea. John =Muir, the great  
naturalist, in writing of =Mount =Rainier says,  Of all the
fire mountains which, like beacons, once blazed along
the =Pacific coast, =Mount =Rainier is the noblest. 


original with man, you might think it safe to name
the skyscraper, of which the =Empire =State tower is
the supreme example. Yet even this giant among
buildings was anticipated long ago in the structures
reared by the termites of =Africa.
These insects, popularly called white ants,  
construct their buildings of clay, which becomes so hard
in the sun that several men can mount upon their
tops without breaking them down. Under the domed
roof are floors upon floors of apartments for various
purposes, connected by tunneled passageways. It is
a city under one roof, which is the term also applied
to a big, densely-populated office building.
Perhaps when you hear that a termite's building
is usually about twelve feet high you will think that
our comparison with the =1'200 foot =Empire =State
building is strained. Wait until you have compared
the heights of these two structures with the statures
of their builders. The =Empire =State building is only
=200 times the height of a six-foot man, while the
=Termite building is over =500 times as tall as its
quarter-inch-high architect and builder! Our most
famous skyscraper would also seem a trivial  
accomplishment to a giant =250 feet high, which is the stature
of a man, as seen by a termite.
Every well-built theater, factory, and mine now



the middle of the load where they were least likely
to be damaged if anything happened.
For five days all went well and they reached =Point
=Hope in safety. The next morning they were up and
away early, for one of the trappers had warned
=Uguruk that the sea ice was not safe.   It is stuck
together,  he had said,  but it is not frozen hard
enough for a sled. You had better keep off of it. 
=Uguruk knew that this meant a longer trip, because
the distance by shore was farther than the  
distanceacross the ice. So off they went, speeding along the
icy beach against a stinging wind.
For some miles the shore ice w as a soft slushy mass
that rose and fell with the swell of the sea beatiIy
against it three miles away. After a distance, however, 
it seemed to become firmer. =Uguruk halted the
team and went over to look at it. Should he try it
or not?   Perhaps the trapper did not come this far, 
he thought. Then, because he was anxious to make
the trip in the shortest possible time, he swung the
dogs cut on the ice for about twenty feet, turned, and
went parallel to the shore. =Ivik was riding on the
load for a breathing spell, so his father ran beside
the sled.
On went the dogs for several =hundred feet. Then
suddenly the ice gave way and the sled began to go



It was a slow and difficult task to unharness the
horse, but we accomplished it at last.  =Lars then led
him under the drooping branches of a fir tree, tied
him to one of them, gave him an armful of hay, and
fastened the reindeer skin upon his back.  =Axel began
to eat as if perfectly satisfied with the arrangement.
The =Norrland horses are so accustomed to cold that
they seem comfortable in a temperature where one
of ours would freeze.
When this was done, =Lars spread the remaining
hay evenly over the bottom of the sled and covered
it with the skins, which he tucked in very firmly on



painted at =Urbino, whilst =Raphael =Sanzio was  
running about on rosy feet.
There was a master potter in that day, one  
=Benedetto, who did things rare and fine in the =Urbino
ware. He lived within a stone's throw of =Giovanni
=Sanzio, and had a beautiful daughter, by name
=Pacifica. The house of =Benedetto was a long stone
building with a porch at the back all overclimbed by
hardy rose trees, and looking on a garden in which
grew abundantly pear trees, plum trees, and  
strawberries. The little son of neighbor =Sanzio ran in and
out of this bigger house and wider garden of  
=Benedetto at his pleasure, for the maiden =Pacifica was
always glad to see him, and even the master potter
would show the child how to lay the color on the
tremulous unbaked clay.  =Raphael loved =Pacifica, as
he loved everything that was beautiful, and  
everyone that was kind.
Master =Benedetto had four apprentices or pupils
at that time, but the one that =Raphael and =Pacifica
liked best was one =Luca, a youth with a noble, dark
beauty of his own. For love of =Pacifica he had come
down from his mountain home, and had bound  
himself to her father's service. Now he spent his days
trying in vain to make designs fair enough to find
favor in the eyes of his master.


However, that will not keep you from the enjoyment
of reading it.
The following is taken from =Robinson =Crusoe's
story:
 I had now a great employment on my hands, 
to make, by some means or other, some earthen
vessels. These I sorely needed, but could not think
how to make them.
However, remembering the heat of the climate, I
felt sure that if I could find the right sort of clay, I
should be able to shape some rough pots out of it, and
dry them in the sun. These would be hard enough
and strong enough to bear handling and would hold
anything that was dry, such as corn and meal.
It would make you pity me, or rather laugh at me,
to know how many awkward ways I took to raise
this paste; what odd, misshapen, ugly things I made;
how many of them fell in and how many fell out, the
clay not being stiff enough to bear its own weight;
how some cracked by the great heat of the sun; and
how others crumbled into dust the moment I touched
them.
In short, after having labored hard for two months
to find the right kind of clay,, to dig it, to bring it
home, and to shape it,, I had only two great ugly
earthen things, not worthy to be called jars.



carried with them the delicate  receiver, which 
Mr =Marconi had been working on for years to make as
perfect as possible.
The outside world heard that the inventor  
tended to send signals from the =Grand =Banks of  
=Newfoundland to fishermen as they sailed away from the
shore. Surely there was nothing very wonderful or
exciting about that!
But the few close friends knew that a far greater
experiment was to be tried. They kept silent and
watched and waited. After Mr =Marconi reached
=Newfoundland, he looked about him for the best
place on which to set up his instruments. He decided
upon a room in some old barracks on =Signal =Hill.
This hill stands at the mouth of the harbor and is
a half mile from the city of =Saint =Johns. Why did the
inventor choose the summit of a hill, you may
wonder.  Because,  he thought,  since the earth
is round, the surface of the ocean between =England
and =Newfoundland must be curved, so much so in
fact, that as the waves of electricity are sent to me
from =Cornwall, I must be as high up as possible in
order to receive them. 
For this reason he also had with him a balloon and
some kites, to which wires could be attached. When
everything was ready for the signals to come from
&&000 GINN & CO.  (1923)   6TH GRADE             GIN9236T.ASC
THE BEACON SIXTH GRADE READER  by James H. Fassett
Source: Columbia TC  xerox, typed by Mrs Rooney, edit by DPH
May 15, 1993

&&111


 Not a farthing less.  A great many back payments are
included in it, I assure you.  Will you do me that favor? 
        My dear sir,  said the other, shaking hands with him,
 I don't know what to ay to such munificence. 
        Don't say anything, please,  retorted =Scrooge.   Come
and see me.  Will you come and see me? 
        I will!  cried the old gentleman.  And it was clear
he meant to do it.
        Thank you,  said =Scrooge.   I am much obliged to you. 
I thank you =fifty times.  Bless you! 
       He went to church, and walked about the streets, and
watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children
on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into
the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows; and found
that everything could yield him pleasure.  He had never
dreamed that any walk that anything could give him so much
happiness.  In the afternoon he turned his steps toward his
nephew's house.

       If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know
a man more blest in a laugh than =Scrooge's nephew, all I can
say is, I should like to know him, too.  Introduce him to me
and I'll cultivate his acquaintance.
       It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things
that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there
is nothing in the world so contagious as laughter and good
humor.  When =Scrooge's nephew laughed in this way, holding
his sides, rolling his head, and twisting his face,
=Scrooge's niece by marriage laughed as heartily as he.  And
their assembled friends, being not a bit behindhand, roared
out lustily.
        =Ha, =ha!  =Ha, =ha, =ha, =ha! 
        He said that =Christmas was a humbug, as I live! 
cried =Scrooge's nephew.   He believed it, too! 

        It is. 
        I I think I'd rather not,  said =Scrooge.
        Without their visits,  said the =Ghost,  you cannot
hope to shun the path I tread.  Expect the first tomorrow,
when the bell tolls one. 
        Couldn't I take them all at once and have it over,
=Jacob?  hinted =Scrooge.
        Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. 
The third, upon the next night when the last stroke of
twelve has ceased to vibrate.  Look to see me no more; and
look that, for your own sake, you remember what ha passed
between us! 
       When it had said these words the =Specter took its
wrapper from the table and bound it round its head as
before.  =Scrooge ventured to raise his eyes again, and found
his visitor standing with its chain wound over and about its
arm.

Through all the turmoil and pandemonium he crouched at the
end of the stockade wing, tense and silent and alone.  To
one that could have looked into eyes it would have seemed
that his thoughts were far and far away.  It was old =Langur
=Dass, named for a monkey and despised of men.
       He was waiting for the instant when the herd should
come thundering down the hill, to pass lighted firebrands to
the men who held that corner.  He was not certain that he
could do the thing he had set out to do.  Perhaps the herd
would sweep past him through the gates.  If he did win, he
would have to face alone the screaming, infuriated hillmen,
whose knives were always ready to draw.  But knives did not
matter now.  =Langur =Dass had only his own faith and creed,
and no fear could make him betray them.
       =Muztagh had lost control of his herd.  At their head
ran the old leader that he had worsted.

But with a crash like thunder
       Fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck
       Lay right across the stream;
And a long shout of triumph
       Rose from the walls of =Rome,
As to the highest turret-tops
       Was splashed the yellow foam.
And, like a horse unbroken,
       When first he feels the rein,
The furious river struggled hard,
       And tossed his tawny mane,
And burst the curb, and bounded,
       Rejoicing to be free,
And whirling down in fierce career
Battlement, and plank, and pier,
       Rushed headlong to the sea.
Alone stood brave =Horatius,
       But constant still in mind;

        I think you will, Mr =Varens.  I have no security to
offer but my own will and strength.  But I'll pay you in
four years to the last penny. 
       The old gentleman pushed up his spectacles and scanned
the flushed, resolute face before him.
        I'll risk it, =Tom,  he said at last.   But remember,
this is a strict business transaction.  Not friendship. 
       =Tom proceeded after this with a caution and good sense
which amazed everybody.  He sought the advice of skilled
farmers in choosing his land and in stocking it.  There was
a comfortable little farmhouse on it, in which he settled
his young wife.  At once they gave up society and took their
position as dairy farmers who meant to earn their living by
hard work.
       =Tom studied hard to master every detail of his
business; his wife, like other matrons of that day, was busy
with her maids, spinning, weaving,  laying down  jellies and
herbs.  Unlike those of other proud young housewives,

        My poor friend,  said he to the faithful animal,
 what will you do among the =Turks?  What will become of
thee?  Instead of the broad desert you will be immured in
the narrow arches of a khan!  Instead of the pure air of
heaven you will breathe the unwholesome exhalations of a
crowded stable!
        The women and children will no longer share with thee
their bowl of camel's milk no longer bring you barley or
millet in the hollow of their hands!  No longer will tiny
fingers feed thee with crusts of bread under the palm trees
in the starlight!  Thy hoofs will no longer beat the sands
of the desert, fleeter than the wind of =Egypt!  No more will
you divide the waters of =Jordan with thy breast and cool
there in your skin, whiter than their foam.
        Though I remain a slave be you free!  Go, return to
the tent which you love so well!

=Sherwood in the twilight, is =Robin =Hood awake?
Gray and ghostly shadows are gliding through the brake,
Shadows of a dappled deer, dreaming of the morn,
Dreaming of a shadowy man that winds a shadowy horn.
Robin =Hood is here again: all his merry thieves
Hear a ghostly bugle-note shivering through the leaves,
Calling as he used to call, faint and far away.
In =Sherwood, in =Sherwood, about the break of day.
Merry, merry =England has kissed the lips of =June:
All the wings of fairyland were here beneath the moon,
Like a flight of rose-leaves fluttering in a mist
Of opal and ruby and pearl and amethyst.
Merry, merry =England is waking as of old,
With eyes of blither hazel and hair of brighter gold:

       The sun was going down, red and hot.  The five-o'clock
train stopped at =Hurricane =Centre.  Mr =Whey walked slowly
home.  He came across lots to the hayfield, in the soft,
cool grass.  Then he climbed the stone wall and came behind
the pump and went up to the back door.  There he stood
still.
       Mrs =Whey, in her gingham apron, was making ice-cream
in the pantry.  Joggins, the image of ecstasy, was helping
her to turn the freezer.  Neither of them looked around at
first.  Then Mrs =Whey said pleasantly:  Back again,
=Jonathan?  I'm glad you've a Job! 
       For =Job stood beside the farmer, in the little blue
shirt that she had made for him; =Job, dusty and grimy and
freckled, and red of head.  But for the first time in his
life he had turned dead white for joy.
        Hello, =Job,  cried =Joggins, limping out.
        Hello, =Joggins,  said =Job.

        Oh, you can't, you know,  she began, moving away a
little;  you can't possibly get through the window, if
you'll wait till father comes, maybe I'll let you in at the
door. 
       But, to her unutterable surprise, the strange visitor
at this came directly through the window without the
slightest difficulty, and without making so much as a crack
in the glass, and landed on the floor beside her.
        =Oh! if you please won't! why, I never did!  said
=Ruby, winking very hard, and looking around for a place to
hide.  But the stranger did not look in the least as if he
had any thoughts of wringing her neck, or swallowing her
whole, or doing her any harm whatever.  He was only an old
man, a very odd old man, though.  He was not so very much
taller than =Ruby; he had exceedingly white hands and wore
white satin slippers.  His trousers were bright corn-color,
and he had long pink stockings that came up to his knees. 
He wore a coat of white broadcloth, with sleeves a yard
wide, and silver fringe and buttons.  His vest was of pale
gray velvet, whether it was faded or 

&&000 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN  (1929)  6TH GRADE       HM19296T.ASC
THE BOLENIUS READERS--SIXTH GRADE Emma Miller Bolenius
Source: Columbia TC  xerox scan edit by DPH May 12, 1993

&&111


all the world and to enjoy in quiet the possessions he
had taken from his neighbors.
It so happened, however, that he had young rivals
to deal with; princes full of the desire for fame and
fighting, who had some old scores to settle with him
which he had run up with their fathers. He also had
some discontented districts in his own kingdom, which
in his days of warfare he had treated with a high hand,
and which, now that he languished for repose, were
prone to rise in rebellion and threaten to invade him in
his capital. Thus he had foes on every side; and as
=Granada is surrounded by wild and craggy mountains,
which hide the approach of an enemy, the unfortunate
=Aben =Habuz was kept in a constant state of  
watchfulness and alarm.
He built watch-towers on the mountains, and  
stationed guards at every pass with orders to make fires
at night and smoke by day, on the approach of an enemy.
But it was all in vain. His foes baffled him at every
turn, and were sure to break out of some unthought of
pass, plunder his lands under his very nose, and then
make off to the mountains with their prisoners and booty.
It chanced that while =Aben =Habuz was thus so sadly
perplexed, an ancient =Arabian arrived at his court. His
white beard hung to his girdle, and he had every mark
of extreme age, yet he had traveled almost the whole
way from =Egypt on foot, with no other aid than a staff
marked with =hieroglyphics. His fame had preceded
him. His name was =Ibrahim, and it was said that he
had lived ever since the days of =Mohammed. He had,
when a child, followed the =Arabian army into =Egypt,
There he had remained many years studying magic
among the priests, and there he had learned the secret
of prolonging life.



 Then, in =1811, when he was twenty-one years
old, he married a lovely young woman, whose people
were prominent in =Westchester county, a county lying
along the =Sound just north of =New =York =City. Young
=James =Cooper had a fiery temper and a strong will, but
these always gave way to those whom he loved or who
loved him. His wife did not want him to go to sea,
so he resigned from the navy. What might he do for
an occupation?
For the next few years he lived near or in =NewYork. 
When he was in the country, he looked after
the crops, drained the swamps, and was a gentleman
farmer. Of his five daughters, =Susan =Augusta, the
second daughter, acted as her father's secretary; for,
you see, =Cooper was not meant to be a farmer all his
life. For what else had he been preparing himself without
knowing it ?
A surprising thing had happened. There had been
a discussion about a certain =British novel, and =Cooper
had said impatiently:
 I believe I could write a better story myself! 
Someone suggested that he make good his boast,
so he set to work and wrote a novel all about =English
life. But =Cooper had never really seen much society
in =England, so we know that it would not be much
of a book. That could he write about with real
knowledge.
His friends now urged him to write a novel dealing with this
country. The suggestion appealed to =Cooper, because he loved his
country intensely. He naturally turned to something concerning the 
=Revolution. Years before, while visiting at the residence of
=John =Jay, he had heard the startling story of a certain
spy, who had been active in =Westchester county



about it, and he did not breathe a word about it at
home, for fear of alarming his parents. He lets us say
anything to him in jest, and he never takes it ill; but
woe to any one who says to him,  That is not true, 
when he states a thing: then fire flashes from his eyes.
  Saturday morning he gave a soldo to one of the
upper first class, who was crying in the middle of the
street, because his own had been taken from him, and
he could not buy his copy-book. For the last three
days he has been working over a letter of eight pages,
with pen ornaments on the margins, for the saints day
of his mother, who often comes to get him, and who,
like himself, is tall and large and sympathetic.
I am very fond of him. I am happy when I press
his big hand, which seems like a man's, in mine. I am
sure he would risk his life to save that of a comrade;
that he would allow himself to be killed in his defence,
so clearly can I read his eyes; and although he always
seems to be grumbling with that big voice of his, one
feels that it is a voice that comes from a gentle heart.
     And still it snows. A bad accident happened  
because of the snow, this morning uhen we came out of
school. A crowd of boys had no sooner got into the
=Corso than they began to throw balls of wet snow which
makes missiles as solid and heavy as stones.  Many
persons were passing along the sidewalks.
A gentleman called out,  Stop that, you little
rascals !  and just then a sharp cry rose from another

the ship's official log amply satisfying any natural  
tendency I had at that time for recording things on paper.
=Timothy =Hanks, on the other hand, kept a most minute
diary bristling with scientific names which he ~as at
pains to acquire, and to =Hanks I am indebted that I can
put a handle to the odd beasts that we saw.

One day, seated upon a fallen tree, we beheld a  
creature that was entirely new to us both. It was about
twenty inches long including a six-inch tail, and it had
the appearance of a gigantic armor-plated rat. It came
titupping along quite unsuspectingly down an open
glade in the forest, preoccupied with daily affairs, and
with the manner of a man who has just comfortable time
to catch a train. He disregarded us altogether, for we
remained without moving and he passed to windward
of us, a compact, competent-looking animal that knew
his way about. He was, so we afterwards found out,
an armadillo.
Monkeys there were in crowds. They came flying
through the upper stories of the forest with the rapidity
of birds, and uhen they chose, their progress was  
incredibly silent, while at other times they came crashing
along with shouts and chatteration like a lot of children
let out of school. Their agility was startling and  
miraculous. Their leaps through the air gave the lie direct to
the theory of gravity, and defied even  =Wilfred's  
vocabulary of ejaculation. They would sail through space in a
line as direct and accurate as that of an arrow, or they
would drop down and down like a stone, and while you
watched with growing alarm for the monkey's safety, his
line of direction would change in a twinkle, and by
means of a dextrous, perfectly calculated clutch at a
branch, he would be off again at an acute angle to his
former course. And the swaggering ease, born of long



was to enroll them and transport them to their new home.
Standing by his side was =William =Tyler, of =Virginia, a
member of the =Indian =Commission and brother of =John
=Tyler, then the =President of the =United =States. In
simple language the Agent explained to the assembled
=Indians that   their council fires could be no more
kindled here,  that  their warriors could have no
field for their glory, and their spirits would decay within
them.  But, continued the speaker, if they would
take the hand of their great father, the =President,
which was now offered to them to lead them to their
western home, then would their hopes be higher, and
their destinies brighter. 
At the close of the Agent's speech there stepped from
the silent band of red men an eloquent spokesman w ho
voiced the feeling of the tribe. What does this =Indian
orator tell you of the =Indian's life, his beliefs, and
feelings?

Brother, we have heard you talk as from the
lips of our father, the great white =Chief at =Washington, ,
and my people have called upon me to speak to you.
The red man has no books, and when he wishes to make
known his views, like his fathers before him, he speaks
from his mouth. He is afraid of writing. when he
speaks he knows what he says; the =Great =Spirit hears
him. Writing is the invention of the palefaces; it
gives birth to error and to feuds. The =Great =Spirit
talks, we hear him in the thunder, in the rushing
winds and the mighty waters, but he never writes.

Brother, when you were young we were strong;
we fought by your side; but our arms are now broken.
You have grown large. My people have become small.



or if no car is on the track to make the connection 
between the wire and the rails, the circuit is open. The
generator may continue to produce electricity, but the
electricity will not travel on the circuit unless the circuit
is closed. It will, however, jump a short distance.
During an ice storm, when the wire is loaded with ice,
a non-conductor, you can sometimes see brilliant colors
at the trolley wheel as the car moves along. These are
produced as the electricity jumps over a piece of ice to
the wire beyond it. A broken rail will make an open
circuit.
Repairs to rails are especially expensive in a city
because the pavement has to be taken up in order to
replace them; therefore the tracks are laid with the
greatest care, and the rails are either welded or clamped
together with steel plates; or else melted metal is
poured into a mold at their junction, and after it is
cooled, is ground off so smooth that no bump is felt in
riding over it.
The motorman must be able to control the speed
of the car easily and quickly. This can be done by
two handles. One puts on the brakes; the other  
increases or lessens the electricity or shuts it off  
altogether, if that is desired. If the rails are slippery, a
wheel may slid. Where the wheel rubs on the rail,
a flat place is worn. This becomes larger with use,
and a disagreeablc noise and jarring motion are the
result. Sand sprinkled on the track makes friction,
and so prevents skidding and saves the wheel.
The electricity needed to light the cars also comes
from the power house; but it has a special little  
circuit of its own, running from the wire to the track,
and passing through the lamps. Heat, too, comes from
the electricity. Even though wire is a good conductor,



The =Del =Norte is not an imposing stream, but its
bottoms are treacherous and the flood-times wild.
Hence there were many arguments at =Montereybetween
dark-skimled =Mexican planters and lanky, gray-eyed
=American contractors and builders, ending in the order
for a broad and durable bridge at the lower ford.
=Waite, four years graduated from college and two
years a resident of =Mexico, was given charge of the  
construction work. His skin had the pink of youth, and
his eyes looked straight at obstacles. Sometimes when
he was very tired, when the sleeping peace and seeming
indifference of this new-old land rose as if to grapple
him at the throat, he would turn to a picture of his
mother which he carried in a worn case.
=Waite sank caissons of steel filled with concrete
through the quicksands and shifting silts of the =Del
=Torte. Then he was ready for his superstructure, part
wood and part steel. The parts of this were at hand,
but not a walking crane to move them. That very day
word had been brought to him from =Monterey that the
crane could not reach him for a month yet. The flood
period was dangerously near, and to wait =thirty days
for a crane meant peril. He had derricks, but a crane
would save much in time and labor.
The terror of the native =Mexican workmen the
morning following =Hannibal's arrival was pitiful to
behold. They fled in every direction.  =Manuel, their
foreman, approached =Waite, his teeth chattering.
 Senor, he gasped, making an effort to use his
best =English,   what shall I say. is it to be with us?
  =Manuel,  replied =Waite,   you and your men go
to your regular work. You have the plans for the day.



mother. How quickly they learn how to live after they
creep out of that little egg, which is so small we hardly
can see it! How closely all those long legs must be
folded up in such a tiny space! I wonder if all insects
know so much as soon as they are hatched! 
Insects!  said the older child,  but a spider
is not an insect at all! Don't you remember how papa
read to us once that spiders belong to the =Scorpion
family?  
Oh, a scorpion must be a horrid thing!  cried the
younger,  a real scorpion! I'm glad they don't
live in this country. I like the spiders; they spin such
pretty webs, and it's such fun to watch them. They
won't hurt you if you don't trouble them; will they,
sister?  
Of course they won't,  said the little girl's  
reassuring voice.
=Madame =Arachne heard them discussing her and
her affairs.  They are good enough creatures,  she
said to herself.  They can't spin webs, to be sure,
poor things! But then these three, at least, don't  
destroy them as that odious =Nuthatch did. They seem
quite harmless and friendly, and I have no objection to
them, not the least.  So the little spiders grew and
grew and spun many and many a filmy web about the
old white lighthouse for many happy days.
Late in the autumn, a party of merry birds, flying
joyously through the blue heaven on their way south,
alighted to rest on the rock. They filled the air with
sweet calls and pretty twitterings. Many of them were
slim and delicate fly-catchers, exquisitely dressed in
gray and black and gold and flame. Alas for every
creeping thing! Snip! snap! went all the sharp and
shining beaks, and where were the spiders then?



My dear =Sir:
 I quite agree with =Judge =Lindsey that the =Boy
=Scout =Movement is of peculiar importance to the whole
country. It has already done much good, and it will
do far more, for it is in its essence a practical scheme
through which to impart a proper standard of ethical
conduct, proper standards of fair play and consideration  
for others, and courage and decency, to boys who have
never been reached and never will be reached by the
ordinary type of preaching, lay or clerical. I have
been particularly interested in that extract of a letter
from a scout-master in the =Philippine which runs as
follows:

 It might interest you
to know that at a recent fire
in =Manila, which devastated
acres of ground and rendered
=3,000 people homeless, two
patrols of the =Manila scouts
reached the fire almost
with the fire companies,
reported to the proper  
authorities and worked for
hours under very trying  
conditions helping frightened
natives into places of safety,
removing valuables and
other articles from houses
that apparently were in the
path of the flames, and  
performing cheerfully and  
efficiently all the tasks given to
them by the firemen and
scout-master.




At Mr =Gray's house, father again left us for a few
days to build a shanty on the quarter-section he had
selected four or five miles to the Westward. In the
meanwhile we enjoyed our freedom as usual, wandering
in the fields and meadows, looklng at the trees and
flowers, snakes and birds and squirrels. With the help
of the nearest neighbors the little shanty was built in
less than a day after the rough bur-oak logs for the
walls and the white oak boards for the floor and roof
were got together.
To this charming hut, in the sunny woods,  
overlooking a flowery glacier meadow and a lake rimmed
with  white water-lilies, we were hauled by an ox-team
across trackless carex swamps and low rolling hills
sparsely dotted with round-headed oaks.
Just as we arrived at the shanty, before we had time
to look at it or the scenery about it, =David and I jumped
down in a hurry off the load of household goods, for we
had discovered a blue jay's nest, and in a minute or
so we were up the tree beside it, feasting our eyes on the
beautiful green eggs and beautiful birds,, our first
memorable discovery. The handsome birds had not
seen =Scotch boys before and made a desperate screaming
as if ~we were robbers like themselves. we left the eggs
untouched, feeling that we were already beginning to
get rich, and wondering how many more nests we should
find in the grand sunny woods. Then we ran along the
brow of the hill that the shanty stood on, and down to
the meadow, searching the trees and grass tufts and
bushes, and soon discovered a bluebird's and a  
woodpecker's nest, and began an acquaintance with the frogs
and snakes and turtles in the creeks and springs.

This sudden plash into pure wildness, baptism in
=Nature's warm heart, how utterly happy it made us!



Squire =Bean into a fife and drum corps, so that by day
and night martial but most inharmonious music woke
the echoes, and deafened mothers felt their patriotism
oozing out at the soles of their shoes.
=Dick =Carter was made captain, for his grandfather
had a gold medal given him by =Queen =Victoria for  
rescuing three =hundred and twenty-six passengers from a
sinking =British vessel.  =Riverboro thought it high time
to pay some graceful tribute to =Great =Britain in return
for her handsome conduct to =Captain =Nahum =Carter,
and human imagination could contrive nothing more
impressive than a vicarious share in the flag-raising.
Miss =Dearborn was to be =Columbia and the older
girls of the two schools were to be the =States. Such
trade in muslins and red, white, and blue ribbons had
never been known since =Watson kept store,  and the
number of brief white petticoats hanging out to bleach
would have caused the passing stranger to imagine
=Riverboro a continual dancing-school.
Juvenile virtue, both male and female, reached an
almost impossible height, for parents had only to lift a
finger and say,   You shall not go to the flag-raising! 
and the refractory spirit at once armed itself for new
struggles toward the perfect life.
=Jeremiah =Cobb had consented to impersonate
uncle =Sam, and was to drive =Columbia and the =States
to the  raising  on the top of his own stage.  
Meantime the boys were drilling, the ladies were cutting and
basting and stitching, and the girls were sewing on
stars; for the starry part of the spangled banner was to
remain with each of them in turn until she had  
performed her share of the work.
It was felt by one and all a fine and splendid service
indeed to help in the making of the flag, and if =Rebecca
&&000 LAIDLAW BROTHERS  (1929)  6TH GRADE       LAI9296T.ASC
THE LAIDLAW READERS  BOOK SIX  by Herman Dressel et al
Source: Columbia TC  xerox typed by Mrs Rooney edit by DPH
May 15, 1993

&&111


    The camp where I found these up-to-date lumbermen
tearing the heart out of one of the noblest forests in
=American was near the =Skykomish =River in =Washington, , where
this mountain stream winds through the foothills of the
western slopes of the =Cascade =Range.  We set out from
=Everett in the early morning and left the train at a little
town called =Sultan.  Beyond the town was the wreckage of the
forest, blackened patches where the fire had swept in the
wake of the loggers, miles of gaunt and melancholy trunks
spared by the ax to die in flame and smoke.  Beyond this
devastated area rose the mountains, still clothed with
trees, far up to the rocky heights, whose bare outline was
fleeced with snow and wreathed in mists and clouds.
       In a near-by clearing was the camp of the lumbermen, a
row of bunk-houses, a kitchen and a big dining-room.  The
buildings were of sawed lumber, because this material was
easier to handle than logs, so there was nothing picturesque
in this first glimpse of the =Pacific lumberman at work.

New mines had to be dug.  Instead of making ten tons a day,
he made two.
       He surrendered.  He became outwardly a level-headed,
practical, conservative iron-maker, and won back the
confidence of his partners and customers.  Then one night he
took his  pneumatic process  machinery three miles back into
a secluded part of the forest and set it up.  Like =Galileo,
he said:  Nevertheless, air is fuel!   =No one knew of this
secret spot except the two =English iron-workers whom he
brought out to help him.
       Under such conditions progress was slow.  By =1851 his
first converter was built a square, brick structure, four
feet high, with

eagle high in the air, spiraling upward into the blue, his
snowy head gleaming like silver in the sun.  Instantly,
then, came recollection and with it, another wave of the
overpowering terror which had dropped him in a dead faint in
the grass.  Not until a hurried examination revealed the
fact that the rattler's fangs had imbedded themselves
harmlessly in the thick bulky folds of the big handkerchief
wrapped about the rounded stone in his pocket did =Jen
recover command of his faculties.
       Then, assured that he was not going to die, he looked
about him and saw the great snake ten feet from him in the
grass, writhing feebly, evidently near death.  He saw the
holes and gashes in the rattler's bloody head, he saw in the
grass and on the ground evidences of a struggle, he saw the
empty trap.

       They came rushing now with splashing feet and foaming,
half-open jaws, the big doctor, calm, iron-handed,
masterful, sitting in the swaying top of his light buggy,
his feet against the dashboard, keeping his furious span in
hand as easily as if they were a pair of =Shetland ponies. 
The nigh horse was running, the off horse pacing, and the
splatter of their feet, the slash of the wheels and the
roaring of their heavy breathing, made my boyish heart leap. 
I could hardly repress a yell of delight.
       As I drew aside to let him pass the doctor called out
with mellow cheer,  Take your time, boy, take your time! 
       Before I could even think of an answer, he was gone
and I was alone with =Kit and the night.

       Sir =Gareth graciously accepted the apology and they
continued on through the woods.
       =Lancelot, who had been ordered by =King =Arthur to
protect =Gareth in time of danger had at last caught up with
them.  He explained to =Lynette =Gareth's position in =King
=Arthur's court, his royal birth, his secret knighting, and
to prove his friendship, offered him the use of his warhorse
and shield in the fourth and last encounter.  This shield
was carved with rampant lions, and because =Lancelot was so
skillful in every tournament the fame of this shield was
known throughout the land.  He generously encouraged =Gareth
as they rode on.  The 

       =Leodogran, =King of =Cameliard, and =Urien, =King of =North
=Wales, had long been bitter enemies and fighting between the
two realms had been continuous.  With an army thus weakened
by constant fighting, =King =Leodogran struggled to hold back
the =Angles, =Saxons and =Jutes, barbaric tribes that were
swarming over from the mainland.  With his fields laid
waste, his towns left in smoldering ruins, =King =Urien
pressing him on the north, the barbarians swarming in from
the south, =King =Leodogran found his kingdom in great danger.
       Meanwhile rumors had come to him from the north of
=Arthur, newly crowned.   =Two old, white haired magicians
known throughout the realm for their works of magic, told
how as they left the bedside of the dying king and walked
from out the courtyard through the dismal night,  a night in
which the bounds of heaven and earth were lost,  they saw
high on the sea the vision of a ship.

He must have raced at two or three times his previous
impatient pace.  I knew that the spirit of the trail
changed, and I quickened my own gait though I was ten or
twelve hours behind.
       The pekan overtook the otter a mile downstream, near
the old =Syphert and =Harrig chopping.  The pekan cut across a
bend in the otter's tracks and, as he charged, the otter
turned and faced him.  I have seen many a snow tale tragedy,
but never anything like the savage ferocity of these two
great =Adirondack representatives of the weasel tribe, as
they tumbled, clawing and biting, down the river ice.
       The pekan could bite the otter, but otter skin lies
tough and, in a measure, loose on its heavy frame.  The
otter had plenty of desperate spirit of his own, but nowhere
near matching that of the pekan.

It laid waste the whole country round about, and used to eat
up people and animals alive, and cook them afterward in the
burning oven of its stomach.  Mercy on us, little children! 
I hope neither you nor I will ever happen to meet a =Chimera.
       While the hateful beast  if a beast we can anywise
call it  was doing all these horrible things, it so chanced
that =Bellerophon came to that part of the world on a visit
to the king.  The king's name was =Iobates, and =Lycia was the
country which he ruled over.  =Bellerophon was one of the
bravest youths in the world and desired nothing so much as
to do some valiant and beneficent deed, such as would make
all mankind admire and love him.  In those days the only way
for a young man to distinguish himself was by fighting
battles, either with the enemies of his country or with
wicked giants or with troublesome dragons or with wild
beasts, when he could find nothing more dangerous to
encounter.

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother =Benjamin, his
mother's son, and said,  Is this your younger brother, of
whom he spoke to me?  And he said,  God be gracious to
you, my son. 
       And =Joseph made haste; for he did yearn for his
brother, and he sought where to weep; and he entered into
his chamber, and wept there.  And he washed his face, and
went out, and refrained himself, and said,  Set on bread.  
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by
themselves; and for the =Egyptians, which did eat with them,
by themselves: because the =Egyptians might not eat bread
with the =Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the
=Egyptians.  And

When the =Rock was hid by the surges swell,
The mariners heard the warning bell;
And then they knew the perilous =Rock
And blest the =Abbot of =Aberbrothok.
The sun in heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round,
And there was joy in their sound.
The buoy of the Inchcape =Bell was seen,
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir =Ralph the =Rover walked his deck,
And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.
He felt the cheering power of spring,
It made him whistle, it made him sing;
&&000 LYONS AND CARNAHAN  (1929)  6TH GRADE       LYN9296T.ASC
CHILD-STORY READERS by Frank N. Freeman and Eleanor M. Johnson
Source: Columbia TC  xerox scan edit by DPH  May 12, 1993

&&111


busy mostly with the problem of finding food for the
people. Then the settlement of claims and disputes began
to occupy much of his time. It was at this point in =Moses'
career that =Jethro made his visit and suggested that =Moses
appoint assistants to help in settling silly matters and
that the people be taught the laws and ordinances.
With this necessity upon him for having a system of
laws, =Moses went up into =Mount =Sinai to talk with =God.
The =Lord instructed =Moses to tell the =Children of =Israel
that the =Lord had chosen them to be a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation. On the third day after this announcement, the
=Lord called =Moses up to the mountain top again and told him
the law. At the end of this communion, which lasted for
=forty days and =forty nights, the =Lord gave =Moses two
tablets of stone which had been written with the finger
of =God. These two tablets of stone were written on both
their sides, and the writing on them contained the  
important laws =God had given to =Moses.
While =Moses had been up in the mountain, the people
had grown restless and asked =Aaron, =Moses chief  
assistant, to make a god for them.  =Aaron ordered them to make
a golden calf. The people were singing and dancing   
worship around this calf when =Moses came down from =Mount
=Sinai.  =Moses became so angry when he saw what the
people were doing, that he threw down the tables of
stone containing the law and broke them.



Mrs =Madicon heard that many people were carrying
their property off to the country and were hurrying for
safety across the bridge over the =Potomac. But the brave
woman at the =White =House did not run away.
In the midst of all this excitement came a note from the
president. It said,  =Enemy stronger than we heard at
first. They may reach the city and destroy it. Be ready
to leave at a moment's warning. 
So =Dolly =Madison set to work packing the nation's most
valuable papers. As she worked, she could hear the roar
of cannon, for the battle was going on only six miles away.
All day she waited for a message from the president.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, two dust covered
messengers galloped up to the =White =House and cried,
 =Fly! =Fly! The house will be burned over your head! 
Some faithful servants and friends hastily loaded the
trunks containing the valuable papers and the =White
=House silver into a wagon.  Mrs =Madison was urged to
make all possible haste to get to a place of safety, or the
=English officers had boasted that they would take the
president and his wife as prisoners and carry them to
=London to make a show of them. Just as =Dolly was ready
to be lifted into the carriage she stopped.  Not yet the
portrait of =Washington, it must not fall into the hands of
the =British. It must be taken away before I leave the
house.  
Back into the house in frantic hurry went =Dolly  




cient copper coin. During the last two =hundred years it 
has almost succeeded in doing so.


Then the =Italians began using the =as for money, it
was an actual pound of copper. Human nature was
about the same then as it is now, however, and some one
soon thought of making his =as a little lighter, not enough
to be noticed, and still using it as though it were a full
pound. Soon everybody w as making the as lighter. Each
generation made it still lighter until it came to weigh but
a quarter of a pound.
In =England the =pound sterling in which the =British
measure their money, just as we measure ours in dollars,
began by being an actual pound of silver. The =English
then put less and less silver into their money pound until
it came to be but one-eighth the weight of the actual
pound as it was in the beginning.
People also  earned to mix other and cheaper metals
with those that were used for money. They mixed, for
example, lead with silver, and copper with gold. These
two practices, of course, spoiled the simple scheme of
early times of using these metals for money because of
their actual value in metal. They were no longer honest
money. Anybody who accepted them had, first, to weigh
them, and then, to find out how nearly pure they were.
Doing these things was so much trouble that the value of
these metals as money was almost destroyed.



did not believe in such social life as dancing parties
neighborhood entertainments, horse races, fairs, and the
like. But they got a great deal of enjoyment from the
neighborly things that they did. When a newcomer in
the community or a newly married man had his farm to
clear, and his house and barn to build, every one in the
town turned out to help him.
When there was land to be cleared, they all brought
their axes and spent the day chopping down trees. Later
there were days for stump pulling and stone hauling.
Then the men would bring their oxen, pull the stumps
and blast the large stones, drag them from the fields, and
pile them along the edges of the farm to serve as fences.
When there was a house, a barn, a schoolhouse, or a
church to be built, every man came with his tools. Often
the whole building was completed in a day. Sometimes
the women of the town prepared a feast for the workers.
Then the neighbors would usually spend the evening
playing games.

SOUTHERN COLONIES

In the southern colonies, most of the people lived on
large plantations of several =thousand acres, and were
usually three or four miles from their nearest neighbors.
Each plantation had its slave cabins, barns, granaries,
stables, dairy, smokehouse for curing hams and bacon,
workshops where the carpenter work for the plantation
was done, and sometimes even a country store. There



After kerosene is distilled, it is treated with soda
and acid to take away the odor.
From petroleum we get more than three =hundred other
products. Gasoline, kerosene, greases, and oils for  
furnaces are some of the materials used to turn engines and
give heat. Then we have soap, candles, chewing gum,
salves, vanilla flavoring, lampblack for dyes, tar, naphtha
for varnishes and soaps, benzine for cleaning clothes,
and paraffin for candles and sealing fruit, for wax paper,
and for match head covering. Even ink for the printer and
roofing paper come from this valuable fluid. Vaseline,
another product, is a great aid to medicine. It can be
mixed with other drugs and never becomes stale. It is
rather healing when used by itself.
Oil drives ships and heats furnaces. Our automobiles
and airships travel by means of its product, gasoline.
We heat our homes and light them, cook our food, and
travel with the aid of this liquid. We are using it up
very rapidly and the oil that we use in one year would
take three hours and =forty minutes to flow over =Niagara
=Falls.



You can always recognize a ranger station by the =American
flag which flies from the flag pole in front of the house.
The duty of a forest ranger is to protect a vast area
of woodland against fire and theft. He patrols his district
in the summer and fall seasons when fires are most
dangerous. He watches for fires from certain high points
called fire-look-outs. A fire-look-out may be a platform
in a tall tree or it may be a steel tower =sixty feet in height.
From here a fire can be located many miles away.  
Tourists are allowed to mount these towers to get a view of the
surrounding country. The climb is an easy and safe one
because of steps which lead to an inclosed cabin at the
top. There are maps in the cabin which give locations



God send us a little home
To come back to when we roam.

Low walls and fluted tiles,
Wide windows, a view for miles.

Red firelight and deep chairs,
Small white beds upstairs.

Great talk in little nooks,
Dim colors, rows of books.

One picture on each wall,
Not many things at all.

God send us a little ground,
Tall trees standing round.

Homely flowers in brown sod.
Overhead, your stars, =O =God!



The twins who were romping and playing near by, soon
heard a crash, and looking saw their mother disappear
through the ice. They arrived at the hole just as she
crawled out on the ice with a large seal in her mouth. By
the time about =fifty pounds of fat had disappeared her
appetite was appeased. Then the twins had an  
opportunity to get their first taste of seal blubber. After such
a big dinner they wanted sleep and rest and while they
slept, several white foxes had a feast on what was left.
By this time the ice had melted a great deal, and some
of the ice-floes had large holes. It was on one of these
that the mother bear taught her twins how to catch seals
when they were dozing on the edge of a hole. The twins
watched her sneak noiselessly up to a cake of ice on which
the seal was last asleep. Suddenly she disappeared under
the edge of the ice, and a minute later the seal was rudely
awakened and paralyzed with fear when the bear shot up
through the hole beside him. Seals are swift in the water
but clumsy on ice, so there was no escape for this one,
for he could not move away from the hole and his enemy
last enough.
The spring went by and summer was nearly over, when
a fur-trading ship came steaming in between the ice-floes
and sighted the bear and her cubs on a cake of ice. The
mother bear did not have any fear of the approaching
ship, as she had never seen one before, so came toward it
ready to give battle, but upon sizing up the situation,  



the cabin would hear them open like a pack of hounds 
on the trail of some unfortunate animal, and the clamor
would swell grandly upon the wind, dying away as the
pack passed on. The men would look at each other and
talk of putting out poison in the carcasses of sheep. The
hair upon =Ben's big neck would rise in a ruff of bristles,
and his white fangs would flash in the firelight.  =Moss
went to the =Home =Ranch and borrowed a pistol, which
he strapped to his waist; but he saw no wolves.

On a bright day in early =February, when the flock was
feeding within three miles of =Bluffdale, a hamlet of one
shop and three dwellings, =Moss was overcome by a  
longing for cheese. Men on lonely ranches get strange ideas
and desires sometimes. For a week, he had been seeing,
smelling, and almost tasting slabs of firm, white, soft,
delicious =American cheese. He fought off his craving for
a while, then yielded. There seemed to be no danger.
Not a cloud was in the sky; the flock was quiet: =Ben was
wide awake and active; he would be back, at most, in an
hour and a half.  He said:  =Ben, I'm going to =Bluffdale to get
some cheese.  You stay here, and I'll be back soon. You can
have some, if you like it.  =Ben wagged his tail, and, to
show that he understood, put his paws on the man's  
shoulders. =Moss swung rapidly over the hills to the eastward,
and his dog friend was left alone.



One morning my nurse had set me in my box upon a
window to give me air. I had lifted up one of my sashes
and sat down at my table to eat a piece of sweet cake for
m! breakfast. About twenty wasps came flying into my
room. Some of them seized my cake and carried it away
by pieces; others flew about my head and face making
a loud noise and putting me in terror of their stings.
However, I drew my sword and attacked them in the air.
I killed four of them, but the rest got away. These  
insects were as large as partridges. I took out their stings,
found them an inch and a half long and as sharp as
needles.  Another day my little nurse left me on a smooth grassy
place while she walked at some distance in the garden.
There suddenly fell such a shower of hail that I was
struck to the ground by the force of it. I tried to creep
on all fours and shelter myself by lying flat on my face,
but I was so bruised from head to foot that I could not
go out again for ten days. Each hailstone was nearly
eighteen =hundred times as large as one in =Europe. I
know this to be true for I weighed and measured them.
A more dangerous accident happened to me in the
same garden. My little nurse, believing she had put me
in a safe place, went to another part of the garden with
some of the court ladies.  While she was gone and out of
hearing, a dog belonging to one of the gardeners got in
the garden and followed my scent to where I lay. He
&&000 MACMILLAN  (1940)   6TH GRADE           MAC9406T.ASC
LET'S GO AHEAD  by Arthur I. Gates and Jean Ayer
Source: Columbia TC xerox, scan , edit by DPH May 10, 1993

&&111


a =thousand =Indians. He owned twelve =thousand
cattle and large numbers of horses, mules, sheep,
and hogs.
In the spring of =1847, =Captain =Sutter decided
that he needed a new sawmill. This proved to
be a very important decision. He sent one of
his workmen, a carpenter named =James =Wilson
=Marshall, out to look for a good place to build
the sawmill.
=Marshall, with an =Indian guide, hunted for
some time and finally found a fine spot at a place
now called =Coloma. It was in a curve of the
=American =River about =forty miles distant from
=Sutter's =Fort.
He reported to =Captain =Sutter that he had
found a good place for the mill. The =Captain
approved his choice, and =Marshall started out a
few months later to have the mill built. He took
with him a party of workmen and plenty of
supplies. Marshall was to direct the work. He
was to share ownership of the sawmill with
=Captain =Sutter.
Now in order that the mill should run, a mill
race had to be dug. A mill race is the channel



Yes; =Christine could do that easily enough.
So she reached and picked it as though it had
been nothing but a gooseberry on a bush. Then
the steward took off his hat and made her a low
bow in spite of her ragged dress, for he saw that
she was the one for whom they had been looking
all the time.
So =Christine slipped the golden apple into her
pocket, and she and the steward set off to the
king's house together.
When they had come there, everybody began
to titter and laugh to see what a poor ragged
goose girl the steward had brought home with
him. But for that the steward cared not a rap.
He knew he had what the king wanted.
Yes; here the apple was.  =Christine put her
hand into her pocket and brought it forth and
gave it to the king.
Then the king took a great bite of it. As soon
as he had done so, he looked at =Christine and
thought that he had never seen such a pretty girl.
As for her rags, he minded them no more than
one minds the spots on a cherry. That was  
because he had eaten of the apple of contentment.



gray and black and white stripes on his back and
tail.  =Arauta even had a glimpse of his ruby-red
eye. Then they heard a mournful little peep
coming from the bushes near at hand. They
pushed the boat close to shore, and =Arauta stood
up and peered into the thick bushes.
At first he could see nothing, but the shrill
little voice kept on calling. At last he spied its
owner. In a nest of mud and clay, shaped  
something like a small =Dutch wooden shoe, was the
baby sun bittern.
He was a fluffy mite, buff in color, with bands
of black. He had stumpy little black and white
striped wings and tail. His head was white, with
a black circle on top. There were black bands
running across his face. When he saw =Arauta
looking at him, he stood up on stout yellow legs
that looked far too big for him. He would  
certainly have to grow up to those legs.
=Arauta was delighted when his father said he
might take the little bird home. Very carefully
he broke the nest loose from the branch on which
it had been built. He covered the baby bird with
his hand, so that it should not fall out.



It was about noon when =Ola started. He had
a long way to go, but he loved to skate. The wind
was with him, and he felt like a bird as he skimmed
over the smooth ice. Frost hung from all the
bare branches along the shores. The merry sun
changed this world of frost and ice into a fairyland
of sparkling diamonds. The keen wind whipped
his blood and made him glow and tingle. The
trip was fun for the little fellow.
In less than an hour he had covered the distance.
At =Haugen he was given a cup of steaming coffee
while the tub was found and emptied. This took
a little time. Meanwhile, he chatted with the boys
and men, and discussed the skating race which was
to take place the following week. There was much
excitement about the race this year. The prize,
a fine new pair of shiny skates, was the desire of
every boy's heart.
=Per, one of the farm boys, carried the tub down
to the river and put it on the sled. As =Ola fastened
his skates and prepared to leave, =Per jokingly said
to him,  Don't let the wolves eat you on the way
back to =Solheim, =Ola. You know you have a good
chance of winning the skates!



But aren't you selling them?  asked =Georgie.
 No. We may work out some way of selling
them later, but at present we're just showing
them. That's what I meant when I said we
were taking this trip partly as vacation and partly
on business. We got some of the birds to make
up a couple of dozen pockets of various sizes.
Then we started out with them to see how the
public liked them. I must say every animal
we've tried them on seems delighted with them.
=Freddy's =Fits-U =Animal =Pockets, we call them.
All styles, all sizes. Patent pending. 
 What does that mean?  asked =Georgie.
 We don't know,  said the pig.  But you
have to have it on them. Then, as I was saying,
we got caught in this flood. We stopped at a
deserted farm a few miles above the city three
days ago. When we got up in the morning, the
water had surrounded us. We rode down here
on a barn door and got in through a window just
as you did. But aren't you fellows hungry? 
 I guess I could eat something now,  said
=Adoniram, and =Georgie and =Ronald said they
could, too.



Well as you fellows. You bet your life I can.
How about it, buddy? 
 Sure, that's =American you're talking now, 
said =Georgie.  Oh, look; there are some boats. 
But they had moved out again into the middle
of the river, too far from the boats to be noticed.
As the morning went on, they grew hungrier
and hungrier and thirstier and thirstier. And
then at last the river carried them swiftly round
a long curve and they saw before them the
closely pressed houses and high towers of a city.
Almost before they had time to realize it, they
were surrounded by buildings. But the muddy
water was lapping at the second-story windows,
and it was plain that the buildings were empty.
Not a face showed at any window.
As they got farther into the city, the  
crosscurrents got worse. Once an eddy at the corner
of a big factory building set them whirling like
a merry-go-round. When they got away from
that, they shot downstream again. Then a side
current caught them and carried them out of
the main stream of the river and down a wide
street.


voyage in his father's ship. Perhaps he should not
talk so much about the new locomotive. But all
the town of =Albany was talking about it. So it
was hard for =David not to talk, too.
 I didn't mean,   said =David.
 Neither did I,  said =Aunt =Melissa, hastily.
 Well,  suggested =Aunt =Ann,  I've heard that
=Henry =Brown is showing a picture of the queer
contraption. Perhaps we had better take =David
to see it. He may find the answers to some of his
questions. 
=David sat up straight, his eyes shining.
 A good plan,  said =Aunt =Melissa.  We'll go
this very afternoon. 
So, like most of the other people in =Albany, the
aunts and =David went to see the picture. It was
cut out of black paper, and it had been made by a
man who rode on the train the first time it carried
passengers. Now he was showing a picture of it
in his studio. He charged a small fee for letting
people see it.
As =David came into the room, he gave a little
gasp. There was the picture, a big one, longer
than =David himself, all across the wall on one side



=Sammy appeared in the hallway. When he saw
his kitten, he gave a cry of joy and took it tenderly
in his arms.  Snowball!  he cried.
 Where did you find =Snowball?  inquired Mrs
=Badger.
 In one of those back yards up on the hill road, 
replied =Juliana. She did not care to answer many
questions about the matter.
 Sammy felt terrible about losing =Snowball, 
Mrs =Badger went on.  We had about decided
that she was gone for good. I'm so glad you found
her. Wait a minute, =Juliana. I have something
for you. 
She went into a back room and returned with
a two-dollar bill in her hand. This she held out
to the little girl.
 Oh!  cried =Juliana,  isn't that too much? 
No, indeed! I want you to have it,  said Mrs
=Badger.
=Juliana took a deep breath as her fingers closed
over the money. This made two dollars and a
quarter she had earned all by herself in one  
afternoon. What a lot of nice things she could buy
with all that!



Once upon a time, far away in =Japan, a poor
young artist sat alone in his little house, waiting
for his dinner. His housekeeper had gone to
market, and he sat thinking of all the things he
wished she would bring home.
He expected her to hurry in at any minute,
bowing and opening her little basket. She would
want him to see how wisely she had spent their
few pennies. He heard her steps, and jumped
up. He was very hungry!
But the housekeeper lingered by the door.
The basket stayed shut.  Come,  he cried,  what
is in that basket? 



Soon he was directly behind the bees hole.
He reached around, dug his claws into the edge
of it, and pulled with all his might. The edges
were rotten, and a pawful of old wood came
away. So did the bees!
They were upon him in a second. He grunted
furiously, closed his eyes tight, and tucked his nose
down under his left foreleg, which was busy
holding on. Then he reached around blindly for
another pull.
This time he got a good grip, and he could feel
something give. But the fiery stings were too
much for him. He drew in his paw, crouched
back into the fork of the branch, and cuffed wildly
at his own ears and face. He cuffed at the air,
too, for it was now thick with his enemies.
The loud buzzing of the bees frightened him a
little. For a few seconds he stood his ground,
fighting wildly. Then, in a surprisingly nimble
way for such a chubby bear, he went swinging
down from branch to branch, whining and  
coughing and squealing. From the lowest branch he
slid down the trunk, his claws tearing the bark
and just clinging enough to break his fall.  

&&000 NEWSON & COMPANY  (1929)    6TH GRADE         NEW9296T.ASC
BOOK WORLD -- by Rose Lees Hardy and Edna Turpin
Source: Columbia TC  xerox typed by Mrs Rooney edit by DPH
May 15, 1993

&&111


     Thundered the cannon: but still no help for brave
=Vercheres.  Eight days the siege lasted.  How could the girl
commandment endure the strain?  Twice, for twenty-four hours
she went without food or sleep.  Not once did she enter her
father's house.   I stayed on the bastion, or I went to see
how they were getting on in the redoubt.   Always appearing
with a gay and laughing air, she held out to her little
troop the hope of an early rescue.
       The eighth night of the siege!  Exhausted, the little
captain is dozing in her bastion, her head on a
table littered, no doubt, with powderhorns and bullets her
gun across her lap.
        =Quivive!   One of her sentinels, hearing a sound,
flings out the challenge.
       His commander is wide awake again.

       Finding commands, threats, and entreaties equally
vain, the =alcalde turned to his two adherents.   Aid me, 
said he,  to bring up the coffer, and its contents shall be
divided between us.   So saying, he descended the steps,
followed by the =alguazil and the barber.
       No sooner did the =Moor behold them fairly earthed than
he extinguished the yellow taper and the pavement closed
with its usual crash.
       He then hastened up the different flights of steps,
nor stopped until in the open air.  The water-carrier
followed him as fast as his short legs would permit.
        What have you done?  cried =Peregil, as soon as he
could recover breath.   The alcalde and the other two are
shut up in the vault. 

       I had good reasons for my choice.  There was in this
part of the isle a little hut of a house like a pig's hut,
where fishers used to sleep when they came there upon their
business; but the turf roof of it had fallen entirely in; so
that the hut was of no use to me and gave me less shelter
than my rocks.  What was more important, the shellfish on
which I lived grew there in great plenty; when the tide was
out, I could gather a peck at a time; and this was doubtless
a convenience.
       But the other reason went deeper.  I had become in no
way used to the horrid solitude of the isle, but still
looked round me on all sides  like a man that was hunted 
between fear and hope that I might see some human creature
coming.  Now, from a little up the hillside over the bay, I
could catch a sight of the great, ancient church and the
roofs of the people's houses in =Iona.  And on the other
hand, over the low country of the =Ross, I saw smoke go up,
morning and evening, as if from a homestead in a hollow of
the land.

       There was living in =Venice at this time a rich =Jew and
moneylender, named =Shylock.  =Antonio despised and disliked
this man very much, and treated him with the greatest
harshness and scorn.
       =Shylock submitted to all these indignities with a
patient shrug; but deep in his heart he cherished a desire
for revenge on the rich, smug merchant.  For =Antonio both
hurt his pride and injured his business.   But for him, 
thought =Shylock,  I should be richer by half a million
ducats.  On the market place, and wherever he can, he
denounces the rate of interest I charge, and worse than
that he lends out money freely. 
       So when =Bassanio came to him to ask for a loan of
three =thousand ducats to =Antonio for three months, =Shylock
hid his hatred, and turning to =Antonio, said:  Harshly as
you have treated me, I would be friends with you and have
your love.  So I will lend you the money and charge you no
interest.

       By the end of the season, the thing which had at first
seemed but a confusing mass of many different kinds of
instruments, took form as a whole, for she knew the plan
upon which an orchestra is organized.
       A symphony orchestra is made up of four groups or
sections of instruments: the strings; the wood winds; the
brasses; and the percussion instruments, sometimes called
the battery.  Kettledrums are the most important percussion
instruments and they are the only ones in the battery that
produce definite musical tones.  The others tambourine,
cymbals, triangle, xylophone, etc. are more or less musical
noise-makers.  
       Each of the first three groups has four voices which
correspond to the voices in a vocal quartet.
       Here is the list of them that =Marian made in her
notebook.

who sped across the continent from =Saint =Joe to =Sacramento,
carrying letters nineteen =hundred miles in eight days!
       Think of that for perishable horse and human flesh and
blood to do!
       The pony rider was usually a little bit of a man,
brimful of spirit and endurance.  No matter what time of the
day or night his watch came on, and no matter whether it was
winter or summer, raining, snowing, hailing, or sleeting, or
whether his  beat  was a level straight road or a crazy
trail over mountain crags and precipices, or whether it led
through peaceful regions or regions that swarmed with
hostile =Indians, he must be always ready to leap into the
saddle and be off like the wind!  There was no idling-time
for a pony rider on duty.  He rode =fifty miles without
stopping, by daylight, moonlight, starlight, or through the
blackness of darkness just as it happened.

Just the place for a =Snark!  I have said it thrice:
       What I tell you three times is true. 
The crew was complete: it included a =Boots;
       A maker of =Bonnets and =Hoods;
A lawyer, brought to arrange their disputes;
       And a =Broker, to value their goods.
A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
       Might perhaps have won more than his share;
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
       Had the whole of their cash in his care.
There was also a =Beaver, that paced on the deck,
       Or would sit making lace in the bow;
And had often  the =Bellman said  saved them from wreck,
       Though none of the sailors knew how.

       We were very cold with =Madeline, and she was beastly
grumpy with us.   If she were telling the tale, she would
put it the other way round.  Let us be fair. 
       When tea was over, there was a silence.  Now, when the
moment had really come for the =Deed, I think we all rather
thought perhaps it would be better not.  But =Madeline
sniffed and her die was cast.
       =Clifford had been chosen to make the last speech
before the execution.  He said:  =Madeline, you have been a
beast to us ever since you came. 
        Not worse than you've been to me,  said =Madeline.
       =Clifford made no reply, but told her all the things
she'd done, from buzzing the plums at =Martin to putting
worms in the snow-white couch of =Clifford.  She sniffed, but
said nothing.
        Did you,  =Clifford then said,  ever read =HopomyThumb? 

       I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for
children; and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that
=I met by the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily
offered and gave all my money for one.  I then came home,
and went whistling all over the house, much pleased with my
whistle, but disturbing all the family.
       My brothers and sisters and cousins, understanding the
bargain I had made, told me I have given four times as much
for it as it was worth; put me in mind what good things I
might have bought with the rest of my money; and laughed at
me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation, and the
reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me
pleasure.
       This experience, however, was afterward of use to me,
the impression continuing on my mind; so that often, when I
was tempted to buy some unnecessary thing, I said to myself,
Don't give too much for the whistle ; and I saved my money.
       As I grew up, came into the world, and observed the
actions of men, I thought I met with many, very many, who
gave too much for the whistle.

Their grazing cattle must not pass that dead-line, for in
the dense cornfields beyond lurked =Rumaniann cattle thieves.
       In the darkness around him, =Michael could see very
little; he could not see his comrades, nor could he see the
grazing cattle until they came nibbling near him.
       As his eyes could not help him, his ears must.  He
must hear.  That was the reason his knife was buried deep in
the hard ground and his ear pressed close against the
handle.  This was the wisdom of his tribe.  The herdsman,
his teacher, had taught him that he could hear each step of
the cattle, if he lay in this way.  The boy had been taught,
too, that he could signal to his listening comrades, by
striking on the handle of his knife, without being heard by
the thieving =Rumanians, who were hidden in the cornfields
beyond.
       So he lay and listened, under the sky of the summer
night, a herdsboy in a far-away land!

 &&000 SCOTT, FORESMAN & CO. (1923)    6TH GRADE      SF19236T.ASC
CHILD-LIBRARY READERS BOOK SIX  by William H. Elson et al
Source: Columbia TC  xerox typed by Mrs Rooney edit by DPH
May 15, 1993

&&111


     =Ludwig was frightened.
      What is thy name?  said the =King, sure that he was a
servant.
      =Ludwig =von =Hove, =Your =Majesty. 
        =Ludwig =von =Hove.  And is this your gift to the =King? 
        No, =Your =Majesty.  There is some mistake.  My gift to
you was a little tin cup, just a little one, a bright shiny one. 
       The =King turned to his serving man again for explanation.
        It is the same, =Your =Majesty.  I received it from the
hand of the clerk, who took it from the hand of this youth. 
       =Ludwig was now certain that something must be wrong,
and was greatly troubled.
        You say your name is =Ludwig =von =Hove?  asked the
=King, slowly.
        Yes, =Your =Majesty. 
        And your father's name? 
        Martin =von =Hove, =Your =Majesty. 

       Again =Mercury waved his shining wand, and =John seemed
to hear the ringing voice of a great leader of men, who
addressed the whole nation as his audience.  In the crowded
halls of great cities, in =thousands of homes, in the far-off
mountain cabin, all men listened and responded to the
magnetic voice as it was broadcasted from one of the great
radio stations of the land.
       Then =Mercury's voice, like distant music, sounded in
his ear:  No more shall man be lonely and isolated.  No more
shall he be the prey of ignorance and fear.  If he but
stretches upward his aerial and listens in, he can hear
the humming of the great world.  The country boy in a lonely
valley used to look longingly at the encircling horizon and
wonder what lay beyond it, dreaming of the time when he
could escape and see the world.  But now the world comes to
him.  Great artists sing to him; great speakers instruct
him; the newspapers send him the story of events within a
few moments after they happen.  The whole world is covered
with an invisible network of communication.  The great poet
who, centuries ago, represented the fairy =Puck as saying,

       The tilefish lives within =eighty or =ninety miles of
the coast of =New =England and =New =Jersey.  It is similar in
shape to the bass, but is more brilliant in its markings. 
It is from two to four feet long, and weighs from ten to
=forty pounds.  Living as it does in deep water, it is
adapted to withstand a pressure of close to three =hundred
pounds to the square inch.  Consequently, when it is hauled
to the surface, the internal pressure distorts the fish to
some extent.  As it approaches the surface it becomes less
and less energetic.  Finally it floats upon its back, unable
to put up an effective battle.  Sometimes when several have
been hooked close together they will float the line up to
the surface.  The tilefish is white underneath, and its back
is gray speckled with gold.  Its fins are iridescent, its
eyes are large, and its mouth has a single row of small,
sharp teeth.

       =Washington,  had had little or no military experience up
to this time, but he realized that the first duty of a
soldier is prompt obedience, and the very day he received
his orders he began making ready for his perilous task.  He
knew far too much about traveling in the wilderness,
however, to rush in without careful preparations, and almost
the first thing he did was to engage his old fencing master,
=Jacob van =Braam, and =Christopher =Gist, one of the best
guides in =Virginia, to accompany him on the trip.  With the
assistance of these men he then proceeded to collect a good
supply of horses, guns, ammunition, and provisions, and
selected four experienced woodsmen to take care of the
animals and baggage and act as servants.  All this occupied
many days, and before the party fairly started on their
journey the ground was covered with deep snow, and the
streams had become far too high to cross without risking
their packs.  It was necessary, therefore, to divide the
party, some of them taking the horses by roundabout trails
which avoided the rivers, while others sailed down them in a
canoe, and it was only after a week of the hardest sort of
work that the travelers reached the =Ohio.

You can learn many things that will help your country while
you are still too young to vote for her, or to give her your
services as part of her government.  And it is important for
you, when you think of =American, to think of her as a nation,
as a whole, not as just the bit close to you, your township,
even your state.  Of course  your work will be chiefly for
your own neighborhood.  But it should be guided by a
recognition of the needs of =American as a whole.  This means
that you should be nationally minded.  =American has suffered
a great deal in the past from locally minded persons; that
is, from people who are willing to make laws that are of
particular benefit to their own section, when such laws are
bad for the country at large; or people who will take no
trouble to help in the passage of other laws because they
see no immediate return for themselves and their particular
neighborhood.  It is a wrong to your country to be
indifferent to her welfare.  You may be mistaken in your
judgment that is likely to happen to anyone but to be
indifferent is to serve her ill, indeed.  If you love
=American and you believe you love her, don't you? then you
cannot be indifferent to her, for love and indifference
cannot exist together.
       There is a music in nature that only walkers know. 
Little half-silent sounds, tiny creaking of twig on twig,
the small cries of wild animals that are busy about their
affairs and, of course, most of the bird songs.  And these
songs are among the loveliest in the world.  Who but the
walker knows the clear, low voice of the brook or the murmur
of the wind among the pines?  Who but he knows the creak of
crisp new snow under the feet, or the thick soft thud of it
as it drops to earth from the fir bough that has brushed
your shoulder as you pass by?
       I promise you, if you learn to love walking, you are
going to find the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow.
       Except swimming, there is no such perfect exercise for
the human body as walking well.  And you can walk till you
are old.

You know how women are when they take charge.  If that
check's in the house she's liable to find it.  If I deposit
it, in a little town like this, people will find it out, and
somebody'll tell her about it.  You send it to me after the
trial, when I'm ready to explain to the girl without ruining
your prospect of winning, and =Drake's.  That's my
condition. 
       As he went up the street toward the station, =Burton
heard from behind the cottage the challenging bark of the
championship hope his dog now.
       =Ferris,  he said,  I believe we've got the champion
this time.  I think I'll attend that trial myself. 
       =For more than a generation, the =National =Championship,
the bird-dog classic of =American, had been run near =Breton
=Junction, where, two weeks later, =Burton got off the train
and was met by =Ferris.

       But he had no time to think.  =Dave was all in motion
before he stopped speaking; and while he worked he watched.
        She's struck!  he cried.
       The wooden handle was out of its case, the =Coston
signal was out of his pocket and slipped into the end of the
handle, and =Dave gave the brass knob a vicious blow with the
palm of his right hand.
       The result made =Tom jump.  They had been in deep gloom
before, with only the dim light of the lantern.  Instantly
the =Coston light blazed up like a lighthouse, lighting up
the wet beach and the foaming water, making plain every
clamshell and bit of driftwood lying on the sand.  He had
never in his life seen such a bright red light.
        Don't wait for this!  =Dave cried.   Run for your 

        They have gone to drink water,  said =Memba =Sasa.  
       We slipped along the twisting paths, alert for
indications; came to the edge of the thicket, stooped
through the fringe, and descended to the stream under the
tall trees.  The soft earth at the water's edge was covered
with tracks, thickly, overlaid one over the other.  The boys
felt of the earth, examined, even smelled, and came to the
conclusion that the beasts must have watered about five
o'clock.  If so, they might be ten miles away, or as many
rods.
       We had difficulty in determining just where the party
left this place, until finally =Kongoni caught sight of
suspicious indications over the way.  The lions had crossed
the stream.  We did likewise, followed the trail out of the
thicket, into the grass, below the little cliffs parallel to
the stream, back into the thicket, across the river once
more, up the other side, in the thicket for a quarter mile,
then out into the grass on that side, and so on.  They were
evidently wandering, rather idly, up the general course of
the stream. 

flying steed with the other.  On his part, =Bellerophon had
mortally wounded the lion's head of the monster, insomuch
that it now hung downward, with its fire almost
extinguished, and sending out gasps of thick black smoke. 
The snake's head, however, which was the only one now left,
was twice as fierce as ever before.  It belched forth shoots
of fire five =hundred yards long, and emitted hisses so loud,
so harsh, and so ear-piercing that =King =Iobates heard them,
=fifty miles off, and trembled till the throne shook under
him.
       =Well-a-day!  thought the poor =King;  the =Chimera is
certainly coming to devour me! 
       =Meanwhile =Pegasus had again paused in the air, and
neighed angrily, while sparkles of a pure crystal flame
darted out of his eyes.  How unlike the lurid fire of the
=Chimera?
 &&000 SILVER BURDETT (1925)  6TH GRADE            SIL9256T.ASC
THE PATHWAY TO READING--SIXTH READER--by Bessie C Coleman etal
Source: Columbia TC xeroxed, scanned, edited by DPH 1-6-93

&&111


or bringing big loads of wood for the flame. At the barracks
out in the courtyard there might be a =hundred common
soldiers practicing with the crossbow, a powerful weapon so
stiff that a man had to pull it back with a crank.
In the ladies bower was the lord's wife with perhaps
twenty serving women. Some had mantles thrown over
their knees and were embroidering the edges. Others sat
before tapestry frames and wove with bright threads. A
few were cutting and sewing new robes of silk or fur. In
the meadow outside the castle were perhaps =thirty knights,
followers of the lord, bound to serve him at all times and
in return supported at his expense. They were exercising
their horses and practicing with their spears.
The boy's education began in the ladies bower. He
served his chosen lady lovingly for several years as her page.
He helped her in every way that he could, ran upon
her errands, carried her messages, held her horse, carried
her falcon, wound her yarn, held her embroidery basket.
night on a hard-fought field. So it was a young squire's
great duty and great pleasure to learn to care for a noble
war horse, looking forward to the time when he should have
a shining sorrel of his own, with thick, arching neck and
high-lifted hoofs and nervous nostrils and intelligent eyes.
The squire served his master in many ways. He made
his bed, he stood behind him at table, carved his meat,  
carried his plate, and filled his cup. He helped him to dress and
undress. He polished his helmet and sword and shield until
they were like mirrors. He mended the leather dress that
as worn under the long link armor, and he kept it oiled and
soft. He carefully inspected the armor, and if a link was
broken or if a sword or lance had slashed it in battle, he
took the coat of mail to the armorer's shop in the castle court
and had it mended. But, best of all, he followed his lord
to war, carried his extra lances in battle, rescued him and
took him off the field if he was wounded.



Before he was ten years old =George was working every day
and all day for a regular wage, two pennies it was, caring
for a neighbor's cattle. It was not hard work, and the  
barefoot boy could make friends with the birds, gather berries,
and cut whistles out of the reeds that grew by the brookside.
He learned many things, too, in his open-air school; he could
understand the language of skylarks and linnets, but he knew
nothing of the lore of books.
Of all the things in =George's world, however, the engine
that his father tended seemed the most interesting. It was
a queer, creaking, wheezing monster, but that made it, perhaps, the
more interesting to the child, who found something
friendly in its   talking   ways as the pump went down with a
plunge and a bump, to rise, bumpets swish !, as the
water poured out with a rush. He longed to do a real
man's work and mind the engine that kept the mines from
being flooded, and so made it possible for the men to get
the coal out of the deep, black pit. It was a proud day when
he was given a job as  picker,  to sort the good coal from
stones and dross. He had now a real part in the wonderful
mines that were milking =England great.

At seventeen he had proved himself both so ready of hand
and quick of wit that he was made  plugman   of the engine
which his father fired. Besides tending the pumps to see
that they were drawing properly, he must, when the level
of the water in the mine was lowered, drop do~n into the
shaft and adjust, or  plug,  the apparatus so that the pump
should draw properly. A plugman was also the engine doctor
in all its minor ailments, with the chief engineer as expert
adviser in case of special difficulties.
  I am made a man for life !   cried young =George  
=Stephenson triumphantly. It seemed as if he had all his desire in
this proud partnership with the engine in the care of the mines.
How he loved that engine ! His spare hours were spent in
petting it, coaling it, and studying all its tricks and manners.
Nothing delighted him more than taking it apart and putting
it together again. The chief engineer was seldom troubled
by an SOS call from  Master =George.



The cotton plant is a member of the mallow family and
the first cousin of the familiar roadside mallow and the stately 
hollyhock. It is distributed widely over the world within
the =thirty-fifth parallels north and south of the equator
reaching its highest stage of development in the belt between
=20ø and =35ø north latitude. Within this area are found the
cotton belts of the =United =States, =Egypt, and =China, the
three leading countries in its production. 

 =India, =Siberia, =Brazil, =Peru, =Mexico, =Asiatic =Turkey, and
=Persia also raise it in large quantities, and it is cultivated
to a limited extent in =Greece, Italy, the west coast of =Africa,
=Argentina, =Australia, and the =Pacific islands. The world's
annual production of cotton is from =18'000'000 to =2s'000'000
bales, from =9'000'000 to =14'000'000 being the output of the
=United =States. It is a warm-weather plant and requires a


into a thread =160 miles long. This plant grows to a height
of twelve feet or more. It is cultivated most successfully
along the coast region of =South =Carolina, =Georgia, and =Florida,
especially in the sea islands off the =South =Carolina coast.
Fine fabrics and laces and the finer grades of spool cotton are
spun from the long, silky fiber of sea-island cotton.
Though our southern states form the most important
cotton-growing district, about =300'000 bales of foreign  
cotton are imported yearly to offset large exports. Of the
foreign product, that from =Egypt is the most important.
Egyptian cotton is a variety of sea-island but is less fine
than the =American product. Its fiber, which has an  
average length of =1'31 inches, is especially adapted to the
manufacture of goods having a smooth finish and silky
luster, and it takes the dye admirably. Its tawny color,


The brothers, unable longer to get a living from the land,
abandoned their valueless inheritance in despair, to seek some
means of gaining a livelihood among the cities and people of
the plains. All their money was gone, and they had nothing
left but some curious old-fashioned pieces of gold plate, the
last remnants of their ill-gotten wealth.
 Suppose we turn goldsmiths?  said =Schwartz to =Hans,
as they entered the large city.   It is a good knave's trade.
We can put a great deal of copper into the gold without any
one's finding it out. 


These wreaths descended into, and mixed with, a beard and
whiskers of the same exquisite workmanship, which  surrounded and
decorated a very fierce little face of the reddest gold imaginable,
right in the front of the mug. The pair of eyes in this fierce
little face seemed to see in every direction. It was impossible to
drink out of the mug without being subjected to an intense gaze out
of the side of these eyes; and =Schwartz positively averred that
once, after emptying it, full of =Rhenish, seventeen times, he had
seen them wink !
 When it came to the mug's turn to be made into spoons it half
broke poor little =Gluck's heart, but the brothers only laughed at
him, tossed the mug into the melting pot; and swaggered out to the
alehouse, leaving him, as usual, to pour the gold into bars when it
was all ready.
 When they were gone, =Gluck took a farewell look at his old


WATCHDOGS OF THE RAILROAD

Judging by the title, what do you think this selection will be
about? Notice how far you have to read before you find out whether
you are right or not.

 Hello, =John ! watching the trains again ?  
 Hello, Uncle =Irving  Yes, I'm watching them again. 
The last speaker was a stocky, freckle-faced boy of about
twelve, clad in an old khaki suit much stained and frayed, 
a city boy, spending his first summer on his uncle's farm in
=Western =NewYork.
But greatly as he enjoyed the life of the farm, there was
something that attracted him still more, and that was the


That?  replied Mr =Mayo, lazily scratching the ears of
the collie, who had curled up contentedly at his feet.   Why,
you might call that a watchdog, like =Pete here. It's a better
watchdog than =Pete even, because it never goes to sleep but
stays at its post night and day and in all sorts of weather. 
Please tell me about it,  begged =John.
Well,  Mr =Mayo began,  it's a rather long story and I
think you'll understand me better if I commence by drawing
you a diagram. He took a piece of paper and a pencil from one of
the pockets in his overalls, and drew three diagrams like those
on pages =132 and =133.
There,  he said;  we'll suppose that those lines represent
a stretch of railway track, let's say about three miles long.



After a little search, he found that he was exactly on the
opposite side of the swamp from that on which he had gone
in. As he was skirting the edge of it, feeling fearfully hungry
as well as weak, he saw, growing quite within his reach, a
fine young fir tree. Then he remembered that he had
dropped the ax at the foot of the pine tree, and he had to go
back and get it before he could cut down the little tree. But
he did cut it down and staggered home with it, weak but
triumphant.
He found that it was three o'clock, that his mother was
very much agitated, and that =Uncle =John had gone by the
road to the =Big =Swamp about half an hour before. The
boy had been so much accustomed to going off by himself
that his mother had not worried until he had failed to return
for the midday meal. Nor had she any idea what sort of
place the =Big =Swamp was. Miss =Bennett's next-door neighbor had
dropped in for a bit of gossip and, among other things, had related
the story of a needy family who had lately moved into the village.
And they do say she'll have to go to the poorhouse,  she
ended.
 To the poorhouse! How dreadful ! And the children too?  and Miss
=Bennett shuddered.
Yes, unless somebody'll adopt them, and that's not very
likely. Well, I must go,  the visitor went on, rising.  I
wish I could do something for her, but, with my houseful of
children, I have use for every single penny I can rake and
scrape .  



had risen painfully as she talked; and now, supporting
herself on her staff, she stood up and shoved the great chair
a little to one side. A trapdoor showed in the floor where
it had stood, and she explained quickly that the kitchen had
been a later addition to the house; that the main cellar did
not extend beneath it, but that there was below a small,
square pit for storage, large enough to conceal a man at need.
Then crying to =Othniel to catch, she tossed him her
crutch-stick, and leaning heavily upon it, he crossed the
room to her side. Directing him to lean on the chair, she
resumed her staff and, reversing it, hooked open the  
trapdoor with the crutch end and signed to him to descend.
He hesitated.  They'll find it,  he said;  it's in plain
sight as soon as your chair is moved. If I must be caught,
I'd rather be caught above ground than hauled out of a hole
like a woodchuck. 
=Susan set her teeth and clicked her needles hard.
We hear there's a pretty niece of yours, who's not so
hard on the young man,  he went on.  And since you're
so frankly a rebel yourself, Mrs =Tongs, it's not a bad guess
that she may have coaxed you into protecting her lover even
if you don't like him, when he's doing spy's work for your
General =Washington. I shall certainly search the house. 
 My name is Mrs =Thurrell, young man; it's only old friends and
neighbors who may call me Susan =Tongs,  answered =Susan dryly! 
And no coaxing of my silly niece, =Tamsey, not if she coaxed from
now till judgment,  should drive me to harboring any lad against my
will. I do as I please in my own house. But she's a soft thing
and young, and it's possible she might have smuggled him
in by the back way if he's really in town and hiding.  You



his hoofs polished as brightly as =Reddy's boots. Then there
were apples and carrots and other delicacies which =Reddy
brought him.
So it happened that one morning =Skipper heard the
sergeant tell =Reddy that he had been detailed for the =Horse
=Show squad. =Reddy had saluted and said nothing at the
time, but when they were once out on post he told =Skipper
all about it.
 You will soon be appearing before all the swells in town,
my boy. What do you think of that, =eh ? And it may be
you will get a blue ribbon, =Skipper, my lad; and maybe Mr
=Patrick =Martin will have a roundsman's berth and chevrons
on his sleeves before the year's out. 
The =Horse =Show was all that =Reddy had promised and
more. The light almost dazzled =Skipper. The sounds and
the smells confused him. But he felt =Reddy on his back,
heard him chirrup softly, and soon felt at ease on the tanbark.
Then there was a great crash of noise, and =Skipper, with some
=fifty of his friends on the force, began to move around the
circle. First it was fours abreast, then by twos, and then a
rush to troop front, when in a long line they swept around as if
they had been harnessed to a beam by traces of equal length.
And then came the spavin. Ah, but that was the beginning of the end
! 
     Were you ever spavined ? If so, you know all about it. If you
haven't been, there's no use trying to tell you. Rheumatism ?
~Tell, that may be bad; but spavin is worse. For three weeks =Reddy
rubbed the lump on the hock with stuff from a brown bottle, and hid
it from the inspector. Then, one black morning, the lump was
discovered. That day =Skipper did not go out on post. Reddy came
into the stall, put his arm around his neck, and said   =Good-by 
in a voice that =Skipper had never heard him use before.   
Something had made it thick and husky. very sadly =Skipper saw
him saddle one of the newcomers and go out for duty.
Before =Reddy came back, =Skipper was led away. He was taken to a
big building where there were horses of every kind.


&&000 SILVER, BURDETT & CO. (1932)  6TH GRADE      SIL9326T.ASC
THE PATHWAY TO READING--SIXTH READER  by Bessie B. Coleman et al
Source:  Columbia U TC xerox typed by Mrs Rooney edit by DPH
May 15, 1993

&&111


    In =September the peach harvest began.  No one except
=Richard had more than half a crop. =Richard's trees were, as
his uncle expressed it,  loaded.  On hearing this
statement, Mrs =Waddle sniffed disdainfully.   He'll spoil
them all in that machine of his,  she prophesied,  before he
gets them sold. 
        Maybe,  said her husband.
       When it came to packing the first peaches, =Richard met
an unlooked-for difficulty.  The shipping package used in
those days was a basket with closed sides holding one fifth
of a bushel.  When packed, the buyer could see only the top
layer of peaches.  The custom among most growers at that
time was to put little peaches in the bottom of the basket,
medium-sized peaches in the middle, and big peaches on top.
       =Richard =Russell objected to that custom; he said it
was not honest.  He proposed to pack each size by itself,
and label the basket accordingly  Fancy.

       Years had passed since =Roland was knighted upon the
field of battle, and each year brought him more fame as a
fighter and a brave and courteous knight.  He won great
honors for =Charlemagne, while =Oliver, the faithful friend
who had loved him when =Roland was a ragged, barefoot boy and
=Oliver a court page, rode by his side in tournament and in
battle and adventure.
       Once, after they had been separated for some time,
they were chosen as champions to settle a quarrel the =King
had with a =French prince, by fighting against each other
until one of them was killed.  As they were both in heavy
armor with their helmets closed, they did not recognize one
another, and in the presence of the =King and his knights
they fought furiously for many hours.
       At last =Oliver's sword broke in two and =Roland's
famous sword, =Durandal, stuck fast in =Oliver's shield. 
Weaponless, each sprang savagely upon the other and tore off
his helmet.

The butt ends pointed upstream and were raised a foot or so
higher than the downstream ends.  Each stick was set in clay
dug up from the stream bed.
       In a few hours the structure was two feet high, and
the ends were brought in, making the dam arch slightly
downstream.  As the water backed up, it spread into a little
pond, and the dam was lengthened until at last the curved
ends touched two little knolls covered with trees, one on
each side of the pond bed.  In three days the work was
finished, and a pond several feet deep reached to the trees
on each bank.
       Then the dam-builders became wood-cutters and  
canal diggers.  Some squads felled aspen and birch trees and cut
them up into logs four and five feet long, while the rest
dug a canal three feet wide, two feet deep, and as straight
as an arrow, which connected the two ponds.  Through this
the food-logs were floated, until, by the time the first
snow flew, 

I did not know when it was morning or when it was evening,
but in fine weather the glow over the horizon told me when
it was about noon.  It was indeed a strange land; but the
=Lapps could tell from the stars whether it was night or day,
for they were accustomed to gauge time by them according to
their height above the horizon, just as we do at home with
the sun.
       For many days the land was illuminated for a while
every night by the aurora bourealis, or northern lights. 
Sometimes the aurora seemed to imitate the waves of the sea
and moved like big heavy swells, changing colors bluish,
white, violet, green, orange.  These colors seemed to blend
together.  Then the heaving mass would gradually become
intensely red.  This red mass broke into fragments which
scattered themselves all over the blue sky.  It gave its
reflection to the snow.  It was the end of the aurora or
electric storm.  They were never twice alike; they varied in
forms and colors.  The auroras are like everything in
creation: on our earth there are not two men or women
exactly alike, there are not two leaves alike, two blades of

But instead of a liquid stream there came out first a pair
of pretty little yellow legs, then some coat tails, then a
pair of arms stuck akimbo, and finally the well-known head
of his friend the mug.  All these articles, uniting as they
rolled out, stood up energetically on the floor in the shape
of a little golden dwarf about a foot and a half high.
        That's right!  said the dwarf, stretching out first
his legs and then his arms, and then shaking his head up and
down and as far round as it would go for five minutes
without stopping; apparently with the view of ascertaining
if he were quite correctly put together, while =Gluck stood
contemplating him in speechless amazement.
       He was dressed in a slashed doublet of spun gold, so
fine in its texture that the prismatic colors gleamed over
it as if on a surface of mother-of-pearl.  Over this
brilliant doublet his hair and beard fell full half-way to
the ground in waving curls so exquisitely delicate that
=Gluck could hardly tell where they ended; they seemed to
melt into air.  The 

 I am old =Father =Death himself.  Listen, little mother,  he
continued.   I think that you and your old dog have lived
long enough; I have come to fetch you both. 
        You are all powerful,  said =Misery.   I do not oppose
your will, but before I pack up, grant me one favor.  On the
tree yonder there grow the most delicious apples you have
ever tasted.  Don't you think it would be a pity to leave
them without gathering one? 
        Since you ask me so graciously, I will take one, 
said =Death, whose mouth was watering as he walked towards
the tree.  He climbed up to the topmost branches to gather a
large and rosy apple, but directly he touched it, the wretch
remained glued to the tree by his long, bony hand.  Nothing
could tear him off in spite of his struggles.
        There you are, old tyrant, hanging high and dry, 
said =Misery.

        A saw!  A saw!  Can't you get one?  he groaned. 
 It's my only hope! 
       As if in answer to his question two figures appeared,
and in their hands they grasped a half dozen tiny steel saws
used to cut through iron.  They had been sent by an officer
to gather all the iron saws they could secure from the
engineers and janitors of the surrounding buildings, and
they were just returning with their supply.  Eagerly they
bent to their task; a task that seemed almost hopeless now,
for the smoke was pouring into the doomed man's room in
thick waves, almost suffocating him and the men who tried to
work at the barred window as well.  A saw was passed inside
to the prisoner and he was instructed to work also.

       The happiest girl in town on =Christmas morning was
=Hetty =Stanley.  To begin with, she had the delight of giving
the mittens to the children, and when she ran over to tell
=Miss =Bennett how pleased they were, she was surprised by the
present of the odd little workbox and its pretty contents.
       Christmas was over all too soon, and =New =Year's too,
and it was about the middle of =January that the time came
which, all her life, =Miss =Bennett had dreaded the time when
she would be helpless.  She had not money enough to hire a
maid, and so the only thing she could imagine when that day
should come was her special horror the poorhouse.
       But that good deed of hers had already begun to bear
fruit.  When =Hetty came over one day and found her dear
friend lying on the floor as if dead, she was dreadfully
frightened, of course; but she ran for the neighbors and for
the doctor and bustled about the house as if she belonged to
it.
       Miss =Bennett was not dead she had a slight stroke of
paralysis; and though she was soon better, and would be 

At the same time she beckoned him to go outside.  There she
soon rejoined him and putting her arm around his neck, led
him quickly out of the camp and across the nearest hills.
       When they had gone about five miles away from the
camp, they came upon a pretty little mouse-colored pony,
which old =Looking-Glass had hidden there for =Little =Moccasin
on the previous day.  Old =Looking-Glass kissed =Little
=Moccasin upon both cheeks and upon the forehead, while the
tears ran down her wrinkled face; she also folded her hands
upon her breast and, looking up to the heavens, said a
prayer, in which she asked the =Great =Spirit to protect and
save the poor boy in his flight.  She then made him mount
the pony, which she called =Blue =Wing, and bade him fly
toward the rising sun, where he would find white people who
would protect and take care of him.
       She whispered some indistinct words into the ear of
=Blue =Wing, who seemed to understand her, for he nodded his
head approvingly.

Keeping them at a distance as well as might be, we followed
=Phil closely, watching his every movement.  He was working
gloriously but on a faint trail.  He understood the matter
by that time and was just as much excited as we were.  With
his mouth open, lest the too strong draught of air through
his nose should blunt his scenting, he tracked for hours the
wanderings of that child.
       Finally the last doubt as to the character of the
track was removed, for just before us in an old buffalo
trail was a child's footprint.  I hastily put my foot over
it to hide it from the mother's sight, for fear her
eagerness might interfere with =Phil, our only hope and
guide.  But the effort was vain, for she had noticed the
movement and, darting forward, saw another track.  I stopped
her before she could reach it, while she cried, almost
screaming