sun shines and it looks warm; but, oh! it is so cold, I must go to sleep." Then the little crocus hid under the snow and slept. Soon the sun found the little crocus and warmed it. The crocus opened its eyes and was glad. The birds were singThe lambs were

ing in the trees. jumping on the fresh green grass. It was

spring.

In the spring the little crocus opens its eyes and says, "Good morning, here I am.

COMMIT TO MEMORY.

Ding dong bell,
Pussy's in the well.
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.
Who took her out?
Little Johnny Stout.

What a naughty boy was that,
To drown poor pussy cat,

Who never did any harm,

And killed the mice in the barn.

Some little mice sat in a barn to spin; Pussy came by and put her head in ; "Shall I come in, and cut your threads off?"

"Oh, no, indeed! you would snap our heads off!"

"Ben, come here and see the little chicks in the water! See how they swim! They look so nice.“

"Why, May, they are not chicks,“ said Ben; "they are little ducks. Little chicks cannot swim. Look at them again. See their web-feet. They cannot run like little chicks."

"They swim near the shore. The

old mother duck is very kind to them. They will not get hurt when she is near."

"Let us stand here on the shore and look at them. How fast they swim! After a long swim they come to the shore and sit in the warm sun."

"Thank you, Ben, for telling me about them. But why do they sit in the sun?"

Children, can you tell? Why do they have web-feet?

The old duck says

“quack, quack.”

Ducks swim in the water.

and sleep on the shore in the

warm sun,

Hurrah! here come the soldiers. Don't you hear their music? These soldiers march down the street. See the boys and girls stand and look as the soldiers march by. They look brave; but when they see a big dog they will run.

Do you see their flag and their guns and their big drum? Ben is the soldier