and the first time he saw his tail uppermost he caught hold of it, and pulled with all his might. But the lobster would not let go.

"Come along," said Tom, "don't you see she is dead?" And so she was, quite drowned and 5 dead.

And that was the end of the wicked otter.

But the lobster would not let go.

"Come along, you stupid old stick-in-themud," cried Tom, "or the fisherman will catch 10 you!" And that was true, for Tom felt some one above beginning to haul up the pot.

But the lobster would not let go.

Tom saw the fisherman haul him up to the boatside, and thought it was all up with him. 15 But when Mr. Lobster saw the fisherman he gave such a furious and tremendous snap that he snapped out of his hand, and out of the pot, and safe into the sea. But he left his knobbed claw behind him, for it never came into his 20 stupid head to let go after all; so he just shook his claw off as the easier method.

Tom asked the lobster why he never thought

of letting go.

He said very determinedly that it was a point of honor among lobsters. And so it is.

abused (a būzd'): badly treated clumsy (klum'zy): awkward depressed (de prest'): downhearted, sad

desert (de zert'): leave experience (eks pē'ri ns) fathom (făth'um): six feet indignant (in dig'nnt): angry lockup (lok'up): jail

KINGSLEY: The Water-Babies.

meddlesome (měd'd 1 sum)
naughty (nô’ty): bad

otter (ŏt'ter): a furred animal that
lives in the sea

salmon (săm'un): a kind of fish
tremendous (trē men'dus)

valiant (văl'yant): brave

withes (withs): twigs, or sticks

HELPS TO STUDY

I. 1. Where did Tom live? 2. Describe his playfellow. 3. What did the lobster think of Tom? 4. How did they pass the time? 5. Tell how the lobster went into the hole.

II. 1. What trouble did the lobster meet ? 2. What danger was there before the fisherman came along 3. How did Tom help the lobster? 4. How did the lobster get away before the fisherman got him? 5. Did you ever see a lobster with one or both claws gone? 6. What other animal can you name that hangs fast to things and won't let go? 7. What is it that the author says about the way to get good out of the experience that comes to us?

THE DAFFODILS

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of the bay.
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee,

A poet could not but be gay

In such a jocund company.

I gazed, and gazed, but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie,

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

high o'er vales and hills, . When all at once I saw a

lake, be-neath the trees, Flut-tering and danc-ing in the breeze.

The poet has once seen these bright flowers by a lake. The sight gave him such joy that it was always a pleasure to remember the picture when it came to his mind.

1. In what way is a cloud "lonely"? 2. How did the poet feel before he saw the daffodils? 3. What words show their motion? 4. Read the lines, and see if they "dance." 5. Who is the poet that is meant in the third stanza? 6. Explain these expressions: "jocund company"; "vacant mood"; "pensive mood"; "bliss of solitude." 7. What "wealth" had the sight brought to the poet? Read the stanza that tells this.