Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building Part 50

BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH

Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

"Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

"Sing!" said the mother; "We sing," said the three: So they sang and were glad In the hole in the tree.

Over in the meadow, In the reeds on the sh.o.r.e, Lived a mother muskrat And her little ratties four.

"Dive!" said the mother; "We dive," said the four: So they dived and they burrowed In the reeds on the sh.o.r.e.

Over in the meadow, In a snug beehive, Lived a mother honeybee And her little honeys five.

"Buzz!" said the mother; "We buzz," said the five: So they buzzed and they hummed In the snug beehive.

Over in the meadow, In a nest built of sticks, Lived a black mother crow And her little crows six.

"Caw!" said the mother; "We caw," said the six: So they cawed and they cawed In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow, Where the gra.s.s is so even, Lived a gray mother cricket And her little crickets seven.

"Chirp!" said the mother; "We chirp," said the seven: So they chirped cheery notes In the gra.s.s soft and even.

Over in the meadow, By the old mossy gate, Lived a brown mother lizard And her little lizards eight.

"Bask!" said the mother; "We bask!" said the eight: So they basked in the sun By the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow, Where the clear pools s.h.i.+ne, Lived a green mother frog And her little froggies nine.

"Croak!" said the mother; "We croak," said the nine: So they croaked and they splashed Where the clear pools s.h.i.+ne.

Over in the meadow, In a sly little den, Lived a gray mother spider And her little spiders ten.

"Spin!" said the mother; "We spin," said the ten: So they spun lace webs In their sly little den.

Over in the meadow, In the soft summer even, Lived a mother firefly And her little flies eleven.

"s.h.i.+ne!" said the mother; "We s.h.i.+ne," said the eleven: So they shone like stars In the soft summer even.

Over in the meadow, Where the men dig and delve, Lived a wise mother ant And her little anties twelve.

"Toil!" said the mother; "We toil," said the twelve: So they toiled and were wise Where the men dig and delve.

COUNTING APPLE-SEEDS

One, I love, Two, I love, Three, I love, I say, Four, I love with all my heart, And five, I cast away; Six, he loves, Seven, she loves, Eight, they both love; Nine, he comes, Ten, he tarries, Eleven, he courts, Twelve, he marries; Thirteen, wishes, Fourteen, kisses, All the rest little witches.

TWINS

BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS

Here's a baby! Here's another!

A sister and her infant brother.

Which is which 'tis hard to tell, But "mother" knows them very well.

THE RHYME OF TEN LITTLE RABBITS

BY KATE N. MYTINGER

1 little rabbit, =one= went out in the field to run.

2 little rabbits, =two= Said they didn't know what to do.

3 little rabbits, =three= Said: "Let us climb a tree."

4 little rabbits, =four= Said: "Let's swing on the old barn door."

5 little rabbits, =five= Said: "We're glad just to be alive."

6 little rabbits, =six= Said: "We like to pick up sticks."

7 little rabbits, =seven= Said: "We wish we were eleven."

8 little rabbits, =eight= Said: "Come let us run through the gate."

9 little rabbits, =nine= Said: "Then let us form in line."

10 little rabbits, =ten= all got in line--and then--wasn't it fun to see them run?

IN JULY.

BY A. S. WEBBER.

10 Ten little fire crackers Standing in a line, One thought he'd light a match Then-- There were nine.

9 Nine little fire crackers Walking very straight, One caught an engine spark Then-- There were eight.

8 Eight little fire crackers Trying to spell "LEAVEN,"

One went too near the gas, Then-- There were seven.

7 Seven little fire crackers Cutting up tricks, One played with lighted punk Then-- There were six.

6 Six little fire crackers Glad they are alive, One went to have a smoke Then There were five.

5 Five little fire crackers Wis.h.i.+ng there were more, One went to find a friend Then There were four.

4 Four little fire crackers Merry as could be, One played upon the hearth Then There were three.

3 Three little fire crackers Puzzled what to do, One started the kitchen fire Then There were two.

2 Two little fire crackers Looking for some fun, One met a little boy Then There was one.