circle under one pair of arms and out again under the next pair, continuing this in and out movement until the third verse is commenced. He then stops in the ring and choosing one from it for his lover, stands quietly facing this child until the end of the verse. At the commencement of the fourth verse the chosen child leaves the ring, followed closely by the first child, and they walk thus around the ring until the beginning of the fifth verse. The two children then enter the ring and kiss during the singing of the last verse. The first child then takes a place in the ring and the game continues by the second child dancing around outside the ring. There is no pause between the verses or between the ending of one set and the beginning of another.

£2

ROUND THE RING OF ROSES.

P

Round the ring of

The one who stoops last Shall tell whom she loves

ро sies,
best.

At the end of the words the children suddenly stoop, and the last to do so undergoes some penalty, or has to take the place of the child'in the center, who may represent the "rose-tree."

Three blind mice; See how they run, They all ran after the

T

ABOUT THEBOOK

HE child's natural realm is that of the imagination. To compel him to live continually in the world of realism would not only rob him of one of the chief joys of childhood but would interfere seriously with the development of his imagination, upon which so much of his happiness and success in later life depends.

The series of "Folk-Lore Readers" represents an attempt to organize and grade the choicest of the folk-lore material, which has been available hitherto only in individual and ungraded books. Beginning in the Primer with the best of the Nursery Rhymes, the series contains in the First and Second Readers selected material from Aesop, La Fontaine, Perrault, Hans Anderson, the brothers Grimm, the classic writers of Greece and Rome, and many others who have put in literary form the folk-tales of the different nations.

In the higher books of the series the material is chosen from the world's best literature, with the emphasis on the legendary and folk-lore side. In these books selections are made from such works as Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," Ruskin's "King of the Golden River," Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and Longfellow's "Hiawatha." The thought of the series is not only to make the child acquainted with the folk-lore literature of his own and other nations, but to appeal to and to develop his imagination along legitimate and profitable lines. The training of the imagination. is one of the pressing needs of our American education. It is also believed that no approach to literature is beset with so few difficulties and discouragements as that which leads through the imaginative folk-tales that have come to us from the childhood of the various races.

The "Folk-Lore Primer" indicates the starting point of the series. An effort has been made to include as many of the familiar rhymes as possible so that the child will have his attention free for mastering the technical difficulties of reading. The total amount of reading matter in the Primer is nearly 6,000 words, which is secured with a vocabulary of only 285 words, making the book one of the simplest of Primers., Thanks are due to Miss Ada Van Stone Harris, Supervisor of Primary Schools, Rochester, N. Y., for valuable criticisms and suggestions. E. O. G.

Chicago, Aug. 2, 1904.

THE GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION.

The following key explains the symbols which are used to indicate the pronunciation of the words in the vocabulary of this Primer. It is based upon the latest edition of Webster's International Dictionary.

Silent letters are italicized. Certain vowels, as a and e, when obscured, are also italicized.

as in use

as in û nite'
as in up

th.
n=ng

as in this

as in ink