Children, this story I tell to you

Of Piccola sweet and her bird, is true.
In the far-off land of France, they say,
Still do they live to this very day.

JANUARY: OTHER HOMES THAN

For the Teacher:

OURS

A COURT LADY

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

Each of the heroes around us has fought for his land and line,

But thou hast fought for a stranger, in hate of a wrong not thine.

Happy are all free peoples, too strong to be dispossessed. But blessed are those among nations, who dare to be strong for the rest!

Suggestions for morning talks

A collection of dolls dressed in costumes of other countries will be invaluable for interesting children in people and customs beyond the sea. Show the pupils scrapbooks and pictures of children's homes in faroff lands: pictures of Chinese homes, ricefields, temples, fishing-boats, etc., to interest children in the home of the laundryman; pictures of Indian chiefs, squaws, papooses; pictures of Japanese children playing politely in the streets; of cherry-blossom time, chrysanthemum time, etc.; pictures of the

snow hut, seals, dogs, and sledges of Eskimo children. Interest your pupils about all the children whose schoolhouses fly the American flag- in the United States, Porto Rico, Hawaii, Philippines, and Alaska.

FOREIGN CHILDREN 1

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,

Little frosty Eskimo,

Little Turk or Japanee,

Oh! don't you wish that you were me?

You have seen the scarlet trees

And the lion over seas;

You have eaten ostrich eggs,

And turned the turtles off their legs.

Such a life is very fine,

But it's not so nice as mine:
You must often, as you trod
Have wearied not to be abroad.

You have curious things to eat,
I am fed on proper meat;
You must dwell beyond the foam,
But I am safe and live at home.
Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,

Little frosty Eskimo,

Little Turk or Japanee,

Oh! don't you wish that you were me?

1 From A Child's Garden of Verses. Charles Scribner's Sons.

THE FORGIVING INDIAN 1

Many years since, when white people were making settlements near the tribes of Indians, an English gentleman was standing one evening at his door, when an Indian called and asked for food. The man replied that he had none to give him. The Indian then asked for a little corn and received the same answer. He then asked for a cup of water, when the man said sternly, "Begone, you Indian dog, you can have nothing here." The Indian looked steadfastly at the Englishman for a moment, and then turned and went away.

Some time after, this gentleman, being very fond of hunting, followed his game until he was lost in the woods. After wandering about for some time, he saw an Indian hut and went in to inquire his way home. The Indian told him he was a long distance from his cabin, and very kindly urged him to stay all night. He prepared some supper for the hunter and gave him his own bed of deerskin to lie on for the night. In the morning the Indian, in company with another Indian, insisted on going with the Englishman to show him the way home. Taking their guns, the two Indians went before, and the man followed. After traveling several miles the Indian told him he was near a white settlement, and then stepped before the man's face and said, "Do you know me?"

The man answered with much confusion, "I have seen you."

"Yes," replied the Indian, "you have seen me at your own door; and when an Indian calls on you again, hungry and thirsty, do not say, 'Begone, you Indian dog!""

1 Abridged from Cowdery's Primary Moral Lessons.

FEBRUARY: CHILDHOOD OF GREAT

For the Teacher:

MEN

CASA GUIDI WINDOWS

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

Bring violets rather. If these had not walked
Their furlong, could we hope to walk our mile?
Therefore bring violets. Yet if we self-baulked
Stand still, a-strewing violets all the while,
These moved in vain, of whom we have vainly talked.
So rise up henceforth with a cheerful smile,
And having strewn the violets, reap the corn,
And having reaped and garnered, bring the plough
And draw new furrows 'neath the healthy morn,
And plant the great Hereafter in this Now.

Suggestions for morning talks

Children of the second grade are always interested in the childhood of great men. They should be as familiar with significant incidents in the daily life of the children who become famous as with the doings of their playmates. This early companionship with great lives will be a constant impetus to learn more and more of the men whose deeds have changed the current of events in the world.

Stories to discuss with the class:

Joseph and his brethren.

Moses and his bulrush cradle.

David the shepherd boy.

David and Jonathan's friendship- the story of the

arrows.

King Arthur and his sword.

Alfred the Great learning to read to please his mother. James Watt learning the power of steam by watching the kettle-lid.

Benjamin Franklin turning the grindstone, and paying too much for the whistle.

Charles Lamb sharing his dinner at the Bluecoat School with his lifelong friend S. T. Coleridge.

John Ruskin teaching himself to draw while he traveled with his father.

Horace Mann braiding straw to help his widowed mother.

Robert Louis Stevenson and his gratitude to his nurse, Alison Cunningham.

Booker T. Washington, the black slave child.

Louisa M. Alcott making others happy in her childhood.

Queen Victoria studying harder than other children that she might know how to rule.

Joan of Arc tending her sheep, and dreaming of saving her country.

Read: "When Lincoln was a Little Boy," in Howe's Second Reader. Charles Scribner's Sons.

THE CHILDHOOD OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

George Washington was born in Virginia and had the pleasure of being a country boy. The meadow where he played as a lad was near to the beautiful Rappahannock River. There he could fish and learn to swim and to row. He went to school in the old field schoolhouse, and was taught by the sexton of the church. Probably he learned only reading, writing, and a little arithmetic in