{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_7868/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_7868","id":"gutenberg_7868","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7868","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's stories"],"text":"Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA CHILD'S STORY GARDEN\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTO THE LITTLE CHILDREN\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBy Various\n\nCompiled by Elizabeth Heber\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\nThese selected stories have been used by teachers of the kindergarten\nand primary grades in the Indianapolis Schools. This little book has\nbeen compiled for mothers and teachers with the purpose of meeting a\ndemand for children's literature that will not only add to the child's\nliterary culture, but will also suggest high ideals through the story\nform. For material used we gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness to:\nRev. Neil McPherson, Sarah L. Kirlin, Leonore D. Eldridge, Martha A.\nGill, Bessie Brown Adkinson, Edith D. Wachstetter, Grace Erskine DeVere,\nFords Hulburt Publishing Co., for the selections, \"The Anxious Leaf\" and\n\"Coming and Going\" from Henry Ward Beecher's, \"Norwood.\"\n\nELIZABETH HEBER\n\nPrimary Teacher School No. 4 Indianapolis,--Indiana\n\nIllustrations by\n\nGRACE GARFIELD\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nSiegfried, the King's Son\n\nThe Song of the Pine Tree\n\nA Christmas Story\n\nThe Myth of Arachne\n\nThe Birds of Killingworth\n\nThe Myth of Pan\n\nThe Bell of Atri\n\nThe Anxious Leaf\n\nComing and Going\n\nHow the Dimples Came\n\nThe Proud Little Apple Blossom\n\nThe Brave Knight\n\nKing Robert of Sicily\n\nThe Great Stone Face\n\nThe First Christmas Tree\n\nThe Story of Abraham\n\nThe Story of Moses\n\nThe Story of David\n\nThe Story of Joseph\n\nThe Courtesy of the Spartan Boy\n\nTwenty-third Psalm\n\n\n\n\nSIEGFRIED, THE KING'S SON\n\n\nSiegfried was the son of the good King Siegmund. He lived in the great\npalace with his father and the gentle queen, his mother.\n\nSiegfried had everything his heart could desire. He was loved by every\none about the palace. He had many servants to wait upon him, and\nbeautiful clothes to wear at all times. More than this, the stables of\nthe great palace were full of horses, and Siegfried could ride or drive\nwhenever he wished to do so.\n\nNow, the king was as wise as he was good, and he knew that if Siegfried\nwould grow to be a good king he must learn to work with his hands. The\nking and queen talked of it, and, although they disliked to part with\ntheir son, they decided to send Siegfried to Mimer, the wonderful\nblacksmith.\n\nMimer was a queer little man. His back was bent and his hair was long\nand white. He had a long white beard and two very sharp, black eyes.\nMimer's shop was out in the great, dark forest, and many boys came to\nlearn of this wonderful master, for Mimer, you must know, was the best\nblacksmith in all the king's country.\n\nTo this shop Siegfried was sent. At first he was very lonely and\nunhappy. There were no servants now to wait upon him. His soft,\nbeautiful clothing had been exchanged for a suit of the coarsest\nmaterial and a huge leather apron. There was no soft bed waiting for him\nat night, only a pile of straw in the corner. But Siegfried was a brave\nboy, and lost no time complaining. He worked patiently at his anvil, day\nafter day, learning from his master to make strong chains of iron, as\nwell as dainty chains of gold and silver, for the queen to wear. One day\nMimer came into the shop and sat down beside Siegfried's anvil. The boys\ncould see that he was troubled, and they left their anvils and came to\nthe master, begging him to tell them what troubled him.\n\nSlowly he raised his head and looked at them all. Then he said: \"A giant\nhas come into the country, who says he is the most wonderful smith of\nall. He says he has made a coat of armor that no sword can pierce. I\nhave worked day and night, and cannot make a strong sword. Who is\nwilling to try for me?\"\n\nThe boys all hung their heads, for they knew not how to help Mimer. Then\nSiegfried stood before his master and said: \"Let me try, oh, Mimer!\" And\nthe master was willing. Siegfried went to work at once, and for seven\nlong days he did not leave his place at the anvil.\n\nAt the end of the time he brought to Mimer a sword that was strong and\nbright. \"We will try it,\" said Mimer, and called together all the boys,\nand took them to a little stream near the shop. Mimer then took a single\nthread of wool and threw it into the water. As it was carried along,\nMimer took the sword and held it before the thread. The water carried\nthe thread along until it reached the sword. Then one half of the thread\npassed to the right of the sword and the other to the left, and the\nthread was not moved from its course. \"This is a good blade,\" said Mimer\nproudly. But Siegfried was not satisfied. He took the sword and broke it\nin pieces and put it into the fire again. For three long weeks Siegfried\nworked patiently at the anvil. Then he brought to Mimer a sword that was\nsharper and brighter and stronger than the first.\n\nAgain the boys were taken to the little stream, and this time a handful\nof wool was thrown into the water. When it reached the edge of the sword\nhalf of the wool passed to the right and half to the left of the sword,\nand not one single thread was moved from its place. Siegfried, however,\nwas not satisfied, and again broke the sword into pieces and put it back\ninto the fire.\n\nPatiently and faithfully he worked for seven long weeks. The sword that\nhe brought to Mimer now was stronger and brighter and more beautiful\nthan either of the others. The handle was wound with flowers, and the\nedge was as bright as the lightning.\n\nThis time, when the boys gathered at the little stream, a pack of wool\nwas thrown into the water. When the wool reached the edge of the blade,\nhalf passed to one side and half to the other, and not one thread was\nmoved from its place.\n\n\"We will give it another trial,\" said Siegfried. He ran quickly to the\nshop and paused a moment before the great anvil. Then he swung the\nsword, once, twice, thrice, about his head, and then brought it down\nonto the iron. There was no noise, but the great anvil fell apart, and\nthe sword was as sharp and bright as ever.\n\n\"This is the best I can do,\" said Siegfried. \"Good master, my sword is\ndone!\" Then Mimer sent his swiftest messenger to the king to tell him\nthat he was ready to meet the giant.\n\nThe day of the contest came. Mimer's friends sat on one side of the\nroad, the giant's friends on the other. At the top of the hill the two\nmasters were to meet, the giant with his armor, Mimer with his sword.\nSoon a mighty shout arose! The giant, wearing the wonderful coat of\nglittering steel, came up the hill. He sat down on a huge rock at the\ntop of the hill. As the people waited, a queer little man was seen\ncoming slowly up the hill. His back was bent, and his white hair hung\nabout his shoulders. At his side he carried a sword so bright that the\nlightning seemed to play about its edge, as he walked.\n\nSlowly he went to the top of the hill and stood before the giant. It was\nMimer, the master. He loosed the sword from his side and raised it above\nhis head. \"Are you ready?\" he asked. \"Yes; strike,\" said the giant,\nlaughing, for he was not afraid. One, two, three times the sword flashed\nabout Mimer's head. Then it fell again at his side. \"I do not wish to\nhurt you,\" he said, \"but if you will take off your armor and place it on\nthat stone, I will show you what this wonderful blade can do.\" The giant\nonly laughed again--laughed so loud and so long that the very earth\nseemed to tremble. Then he took off the armor and laid it on the rock.\nMimer stepped back, raised the sword again, swung it about his head\nuntil the light seemed to blind the people. Then it came down. The\npeople waited. There was no clash of iron. All was still.\n\nThen Mimer stepped up to the armor and touched it with his foot. It fell\napart, and the rock beneath it fell apart, too. Half the rock started to\nroll down the hill. On, on it went, faster and faster, and fell with a\nmighty splash into the river at the foot of the hill, and if you should\ngo to that far-away country you could see it lying there, far down below\nthe surface of the water.\n\nThen a mighty shout arose! Mimer's friends, and the great king, too,\njoined in the applause. The giant, no longer boastful, stooped down,\ngathered up the two parts of the armor, and went with his friends into a\nfar country. Mimer took the wonderful sword and went back to his place\nin the blacksmith shop, still the master of all the smiths.\n\nVery few people, however, knew that it was the king's own son,\nSiegfried, who had made the wonderful sword.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SONG OF THE PINE TREE\n\n\nIt was a wee pine tree in a very large forest. It could not see anything\naround it, for the other pine trees about it were so very tall. They\ncould only tell the little pine tree what they saw. At night the little\ntree would often gaze at the sky and the stars that peeped out. And\nsometimes the big, round moon would pass over the sky. And all day long,\nall that the little pine tree could see above it was the blue sky, and\nthe beautiful white clouds that went sailing by like so many ships on\nthe sea. The little pine tree wished to grow and be tall, like the rest\nof the trees, for it wanted to see what was in the world outside of the\nforest. The tall pine trees would sing songs as the wind whistled\nthrough their branches, and the little pine tree waited day after day,\nso that it might be tall and sing songs, too. When summer came the birds\nwould rest on the branches of this wee tree, but would not build nests,\nbecause it was too low. When winter came little white snowflakes came\nfluttering down and rested on the branches of the little pine tree.\n\nYear after year the little tree waited, but it grew all this time, and\nseemed to stretch higher and higher its beautiful green branches.\n\nOne day, when the little snowflakes had fluttered down and made all the\nworld white, and the wind was whistling a merry tune, the little pine\ntree heard some strange noises. The tall pine trees nodded their heads,\nfor they knew who were coming. They were the woodmen. They had a sled\nwith them, drawn by horses. The sight was strange to the pine tree, for\nit had never before seen woodmen, nor a sled, nor horses. But the old\npine trees knew what it all meant, for they had seen the woodmen many\ntimes. They wondered which tree the woodmen would choose. Now, the\nlittle pine tree had grown, and it was not a wee tree any longer, but\nwas a straight, strong, beautiful tree. The woodmen walked about with\nsomething very bright and shining in their hands. When they came to this\npine tree they looked at it, shook it and sounded the ax against its\ntrunk.\n\nHow queer the pine tree felt! It wondered what they were going to do\nwith it. Suddenly a sharp sound rang out in the air, and another, and\nstill another one. And the pine tree felt itself swaying and swaying,\nand down it went, lower and lower, until its branches touched the soft\nwhite snow on the ground. The woodmen lifted the pine tree very\ncarefully, placed it on the sled and drove the horses away. Pine Tree\nwas happy now, for he was going to see something of the great, wonderful\nworld.\n\nThe woodmen drove the horses out of the forest into the beautiful white\nworld. On and on they went until at last they came to a little village\nby the sea. They drove through the village and into a great shipyard,\nwhere saws were buzzing, hammers were pounding, and busy men were\nhurrying about. Pine Tree had never seen anything like this before. He\nwas lifted from the sled and his beautiful branches were taken from the\ntrunk. Then he lay with, many other logs for a long time, until one day\nthe carpenters took him away, and he found that he was helping to make a\npart of a ship. Boards were nailed on, and the busy carpenters worked\nday after day.\n\nAt last the strong and stately ship was finished. It glided gracefully\ninto the water and sailed away. Pine Tree was very happy now, for he was\nseeing new and strange things. The waves dashed carelessly against the\nship. They seemed to have a song, too. Pine Tree had not forgotten the\nsongs that the old pines used to sing. The waves did not always sing the\nsame song--sometimes they would rush and roll against the ship very hard\nuntil they grew tired, and then they would roll on, and sing a quiet\nsong again.\n\nSometimes the ship would stop at strange countries, people would get\noff, other people would get on, and then the ship would sail off out\ninto the sea again. Now, the pine tree had been a part of the ship for\nmany years, when one night while the ship was sailing the seas the waves\ngrew so high and strong that the parts of the ship could not stay\ntogether. So Pine Tree was thrown out upon the angry waves and was\nrocked all night long--very roughly at first, but gently afterwards.\nWhen the sunshine looked down upon the sand the next morning it saw Pine\nTree. Pine Tree lay there many days.\n\nHow lonesome Pine Tree was! He seemed to hear the songs of the old\npines, and sometimes the songs of the waves. One day he heard another\nsong. It was a new song to the pine tree, for the song was sung by some\nlittle children who were digging in the sand close by. They came here\nevery day to play, and once a man came with them. When he saw Pine Tree\nlying upon the sand he said: \"This is just what I have been looking for.\nI will use this for the ridge-pole for my little cottage.\" So he took\nPine Tree away with him. After a time Pine Tree found himself a part of\nthe man's cottage, and, of course, he could not hear the songs of the\nforest, nor the songs of the waves, but he heard new songs. They were\nrock-a-bye-baby songs that the mother in this little cottage would sing\nto her children in the evening, when it was time for them to go to\nsleep.\n\nYears passed, and the children grew to be men and women, and after a\nwhile all the songs Pine Tree heard were those of the grandmother, which\nwere soft and low. At last these, too, were heard no more--the little\ncottage grew quiet and everything was still. Pine Tree wondered where\neverybody was. The only company he had were the birds that came in\nthrough the window and built nests in the attic. Now the cottage was no\nlonger a home, but was used as a barn, and the gentle cows, the woolly\nsheep and the kind horses rested there at night. They, too, seemed to\nsing a song to Pine Tree, but by and by even their song could not be\nheard--nothing but the wind and the owls in the trees outside--because\nwhat had once been the cottage, and then a barn, was now a forsaken\nlittle hut.\n\nOne day Pine Tree heard a man whistling. Oh! how he hoped he would come\nin, for he had not seen anybody nor heard any of the songs he had loved\nfor so long. Pine Tree heard the whistle come nearer and nearer, and at\nlast the man stepped through the doorway. He looked about him and saw\nthe spider webs hanging in the corners and the birds flying in and out\nof the windows, and he wondered how long it had been since people had\nlived there. He looked up and saw the ridge-pole, which had once been\nPine Tree. \"Oh!\" he said, \"I have found what I have long been looking\nfor.\" So he climbed up and loosened the boards and took Pine Tree out of\nhis resting place. Now Pine Tree was going once more out into the world.\nThe man carried him on and took him into a little shop. It was a queer\nshop, too, for there were many bright, shining things lying on the\nwork-bench. They were tools, you know. The man had a kind face and he\nhandled Pine Tree very carefully. He sawed and smoothed Pine Tree many\ndays, and as he worked he whistled and sang, for he was happy. Sometimes\nhe would whistle some of the songs that Pine Tree had heard when he\nlived in the forest, and then sometimes those he had heard on the ocean,\nand again he would whistle the songs that Pine Tree had heard in the\nhome of the children.\n\nAt last the man's work was finished. Pine Tree had been made into a\nwonderful musical instrument--a violin. The man took a bow and drew it\nacross the strings, and as he did so he smiled and nodded his head, for\nthe music was very sweet. The violin, which had once been Pine Tree, and\nthen part of a ship, and the ridge-pole of the cottage and the barn,\nseemed to sing to the man the songs of the forest, the songs of the\nocean, the songs of the home, and the songs of the lowly barn.\n\nOne day the man put the violin in a case and took it away on a long\njourney. When the case was opened, the violin saw that they were in a\nstrange hall full of people, and many of them were talking of this\nman--the violin-maker.\n\nThe man lifted the violin from the case and went out upon a large\nplatform before the people, and began playing for them. He seemed to say\nto the violin, \"Sing for me,\" and as he drew the bow across the strings\nthe violin sang. It sang to the people, first the very songs that the\ntall pines sang in the forest. The song changed, and the lap of the\nwaters, and the dip of the oar could be heard as on a moonlight summer\nnight; then the angry wind and the dash of the waves could be heard as\nin a fierce storm. Slowly this song died, and everything was quiet.\nThen, after a little while, the faraway sound of children's\nvoices--their laughter and singing--was heard, and then came the sweet\nlullaby to the sleepy babes.\n\nThese songs all died away, and the violin sang the songs of the birds in\nthe summer-time, and the lowing of cattle, and the bleating of sheep in\nthe cold winter-time.\n\nAt last the violin could sing no longer the songs it knew, but a new\nsong came forth which was also very beautiful, and which caused the\npeople to bend forward and listen with eager faces, for it was the song\nthat came from the heart of the old man who was master of the violin.\n\n\n\n\nA CHRISTMAS STORY\n\n\nIt was so long ago that the whole world has forgotten the date and even\nthe name of the little town in which lived a little boy whose name was\nHans.\n\nLittle Hans lived with his aunt, who was quite an old lady. She was not\nalways kind to Hans, but this made no difference to him. He loved her\njust the same, and forgot that she was ever cross and very unkind to him\nat times.\n\nHans went to school with many other boys, but he was not clothed as they\nwere. He had to wear the same clothes both week days and Sundays; the\nsame even in the summer that he wore in the winter.\n\nIt was now midwinter, when everything was wrapped in snow and glazed\nwith ice, while the north winds sang loud and whistled down the\nchimneys, played very roughly with the bare trees, and crept through\nevery crack and crevice of the house. The frost, too, was busy pinching\nthe cheeks and biting the toes of the boys, and making them run, jump\nand dance to keep warm.\n\nThe children were wild with the excitement and the joy that was astir at\nthis time. For there were secrets in the air. Every one was busy making\ngifts for some loved one.\n\nIt was the night before Christmas, the one great birthday on which the\nwhole world rejoiceth and when all endeavor to make their fellow men\nhappy.\n\nThe schoolmaster and all of his pupils started for the midnight worship\nand prayer at the church. All of the boys were well clothed, with heavy\ncoats, fur caps, thick mittens, and very heavy and warm shoes. But\nlittle Hans had only a poor, plain, ragged suit, with no overcoat, no\nmittens, and his shoes were only wooden ones. It was a very cold night,\nand the boys and the schoolmaster had to walk very fast to keep warm.\nBut little Hans did not mind the cold so much, because the stars smiled\ndown upon him and seemed like so many diamonds set in a deep blue\ncanopy, each one glittering and flashing in the darkness. The snow, too,\nwas a sparkling mass, and Hans wondered if the stars could see\nthemselves reflected in the tiny snow crystals which covered the earth.\n\nAt last they reached the church, whose windows were shedding forth a\nsoft, golden light on the stillness and darkness of the cold winter\nnight. This little group of worshipers quietly passed into the church\nand sank noiselessly into their pews. It was a beautiful place to Hans.\nHe loved it dearly, and was always happy to come here. The candles were\nall lighted, and they burned steadily brighter and brighter, filling the\nchurch with a beautiful mellow light. The grand old organ softly and\nclearly sent forth its tones, each one growing richer, deeper and\nsweeter, and gradually the voices of the choir boys and the tones of the\norgan filled the old church with such beautiful music that little Hans's\nheart seemed to bound within him, and his whole soul was enraptured,\nwhile there shone from his face a radiance that only a divine\ninspiration could bring forth.\n\nAt length, after the people had sung, each one knelt and offered\nthanksgiving to the Heavenly Father, little Hans, too, knelt and offered\nthanks for the blessings which he had received during that year, and for\nthe tender care of the Father of all.\n\nThe people then quietly passed out of the warm church into the cold of\nthe night. Hans was the last one out, and as he carefully made his way\ndown the icy steps he noticed a little boy no larger than himself\nsitting on the steps, with his head resting against the church. He was\nfast asleep. His face was beautiful, and seemed clothed in a golden\nlight. Beside him, tied in a cloth, were a square, a hammer, a saw and\nother tools of a carpenter. He had neither shoes nor stockings on his\nfeet, although his clothing was spotless and of the purest white. It\ngrieved Hans that the child should have no shoes, not even one to place\nfor the Christ-child to fill with gifts.\n\nHans stooped and took from his right foot the wooden shoe and placed it\nin front of the sleeping child, so that the Christ-child would not pass\nhim by. Hans then limped along on the ice and snow, not feeling how cold\nit was, but only thinking of the poor child asleep out in the cold.\n\nThe other boys were talking of the good things awaiting them at home, of\nthe feasts, the plum pudding, the Christmas trees, and the many drums,\nwagons and blocks the Christ-child would put in their shoes that night.\n\nWhen Hans arrived home he found his aunt awaiting him, and when she saw\nthat he had only one shoe, and he had told her all about the other one,\nshe was very angry with him, and sent him to bed. Hans placed the wooden\nshoe from his left foot at the fireside, hoping that the Christ-child\nwould remember him as he passed by.\n\nThe first sunbeam that crept into Hans's bedroom and kissed him the next\nmorning awoke him, and he bounded downstairs, and flew to the great open\nfireplace to find his shoe.\n\nHans rubbed his eyes and caught his breath, for, to his great surprise,\nthere were both of his wooden shoes, filled with beautiful toys; by the\nfireside he found warm clothing and many other things to make him\ncomfortable and happy.\n\nHearing loud voices, Hans went to the door. The people were standing in\na crowd about the priest, who was talking to them. He told Hans that\nwhere he had seen the child asleep on the church steps there was now in\nthe window above a beautiful crown set with precious jewels. He said\nthat the child was the Christ-child, whom the Heavenly Father had again\nsent among men on earth for that night, and that it was He with whom\nHans had shared his wooden shoes.\n\nThe people bowed themselves before that miracle that the good God had\nseen fit to work, to reward the faith and charity of a child.\n\nFrancois Coppee, [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MYTH OF ARACHNE\n\n\nA long time ago there lived a maiden whose name was Arachne. She could\nweave the most beautiful fabrics that people had ever seen. She chose\nthe most exquisite colors. They were the colors that were found in the\nflowers, the green of the trees and grass, and the varied, dainty tints\nand shades from the blue sky and its gorgeous sunsets.\n\nPeople had said that Arachne learned to weave from the birds, although\nsome of them thought that Arachne had been taught to weave by the\ngoddess Athena. When Arachne heard that the people thought that Athena\nhad taught her to weave she became very angry. She declared that Athena\nhad not taught her to weave; that no one had taught her. She said she\nwould compete with the goddess Athena in weaving. The goddess Athena was\na noble goddess. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, and of all the Arts and\nCrafts. When she heard what Arachne had declared she said: \"It is very\nwrong that Arachne should be so proud and envious. I will go to see\nher.\"\n\nThe goddess Athena disguised herself in humble apparel and visited\nArachne. She talked with her about her weaving, and still Arachne\nboasted of the wonderful weaving she could do; but the goddess told her\nthat she was foolish to be so boastful.\n\nThis made Arachne angry, and she said: \"I am not afraid at all, not of\nany one in the world.\" At this moment the goddess threw aside her plain\ngarments and revealed herself the goddess Athena. This did not frighten\nArachne. She looked calmly at Athena and told her that she would give up\nanything, even her life, to prove to the people that she could weave\neven better than the goddess.\n\nThey then set about to arrange their looms, to select their threads, and\nto begin work. At last they began. Whirr! Whirr! went the shuttles.\nSpin! Spin! they sang, faster and faster, in and out, over and under,\nflew the shuttles.\n\nArachne had chosen the most delicate, lovely threads that she could\nfind, but while she wove these beautiful threads she was thinking of her\nrevenge and other evil and wicked thoughts, while her skillful and swift\nfingers moved faster and faster.\n\nAt the same time Athena was sitting in the sunlight, busily and\ncarefully weaving over and under, and in and out, her dainty, beautiful\nsilken threads, which seemed to have come from the very sunbeams\nthemselves. The colors were most harmonious and exquisite. Even the\nrainbow was surpassed. Athena was thinking of the fleecy clouds, which\nwere to her as white ships that sailed through the blue sea of the sky.\nShe thought of the brown earth, with its emerald decking of trees and\nmeadows; of the buttercups and daisies of gold, and the roses and lilies\nwhich dotted Mother Earth's carpet. She thought of the butterflies that\nflitted about, and of the birds, in coats of red, blue, glossy black,\nand dazzling gold.\n\nWhen Arachne looked at Athena's work she shuddered with shame, for,\nalthough her own work had been skillfully done, it was marred by the\nenvy, malice and evil thoughts she had woven into it. While Athena's\nwork was no more skillfully woven, it was by far the more beautiful. The\nazure sky, with fluffy white clouds; the meadows, dotted with flowers,\nand fields, with their shady green trees, filled with birds of gorgeous\nhues, all made a wonderful picture.\n\nPoor Arachne knew her fate. She hastened away and took with her the\nthreads that she had been using in weaving, and wrapped them about her\nneck. She thought she would end her life by hanging to a tree. This made\nthe beautiful and kind Athena sad, and she said to Arachne: \"You must\nlive--live on forever,\" and she touched Arachne and changed her form.\nArachne gradually grew smaller and smaller, until she was no larger than\na honeybee. She had many legs and wore a brown, fuzzy coat. Instead of\nhanging by the threads she had used she now hung from a dainty silken\nspider web, for Arachne was still a weaver, but not a weaver as of old.\n\nToday, perchance, if you should see a busy little spider, it might be\none of Arachne's children, or perhaps Arachne herself. No one\nknows--neither you nor I.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRDS OF KILLINGWORTH\n\n\nIt was spring, and the little town of Killingworth told of the joy of\nliving again. Every little rivulet had broken from its frozen chain,\nwhich had held it fast during the long winter, and was rushing on,\nrejoicing at its freedom. The purple buds, holding wonderful secrets of\nthings to come, were bursting forth from every tree and bush, while from\nthe topmost boughs the birds called and sang to their mates: \"Oh! be\nhappy, be happy, for spring has come!\"\n\nThere were all the messengers of spring--the robin, the oriole, and the\nbluebird--filling the orchard with their glad melody. The little sparrow\nchirped in glee for the very joy of living, and the hungry crows, in\ngreat crowds, called loudly the tidings of spring. But not long could\nthey stop to sing, for the homes must be made, and soon from every tree\nand bush could be seen these dainty, downy nests, and in every nest the\neggs, and in every egg a wonderful secret about which all the happy\nbirds twittered and sang together.\n\nThe farmers, as they plowed their fields and made their gardens that\nspring, heard these tree-top concerts, and saw the multitude playing and\nworking about them, and they shook their heads and said: \"Never before\nhave we had so many birds in Killingworth. We must surely do something,\nor they will eat up half of our crops, and take the grain and fruits\nthat should go to feed our own children.\" Then it was decided to have a\nmeeting. All in the town were free to come, and here they were to decide\nwhat was to be done with the troublesome birds. The meeting was held in\nthe new town hall, and to it came all the great men of the town, and\nfrom far and near the farmers gathered. The great hall was crowded. The\ndoors and windows were open, and through them came a beautiful flood of\nbird music, but the sturdy farmers and great men shook their heads as\nthey heard it. And then they told how the birds were eating the grains\nand spoiling the fruit, and every one said the birds must go. There\nseemed to be not a single friend to the singers outside, until one man\narose--the teacher in the town, much loved by the children, and himself\nloving everything that God had made. He looked sadly on the men around\nhim, and then he said:\n\n\"My friends, can you drive away these birds that God has made and sent\nto us, for a few handfuls of grain and a little fruit? Will you lose all\nthis music that you hear outside? Think of the woods and orchard without\nthe birds, and of the empty nests you will see. You say the birds are\nrobbing you; but instead they are your greatest helpers. With their\nbright little eyes they see the little bugs and worms which destroy the\nfruit. Think who has made them. Who has taught them the songs and the\nsecret of building their nests. You will be sorry when they are gone and\nwill wish them back.\"\n\nBut still the farmers shook their heads and said: \"The birds must go.\"\nSo the birds of Killingworth were driven away, until not a single note\nwas heard, and only empty nests were left. The little children of the\ntown were hoping each day to see their friends again, and a strange\nstillness and loneliness seemed to fill the little town, for the music\nin the air had ceased.\n\nThe summer came, and never before had it been so hot. The little insects\nand worms which the little birds had always driven away covered every\ntree and bush, eating the leaves until nothing was left but the bare\ntwigs. The streets were hot and shadeless. In the orchard the fruit\ndropped, scorched and dried by the sun. When the grains were gathered\none-half of the crop had been destroyed by the insects. Now the old\nfarmers said among themselves:\n\n\"We have made a great mistake. We need the birds.\"\n\nOne day in the early spring a strange sight was seen in the little town\nof Killingworth. A great wagon covered with green branches was driven\ndown the main street, and among the branches were huge cages, and the\ncages were filled with birds. Oh! they were all there--the robin, the\nbluebird, the lark and the oriole--birds of every color and kind. When\nthe great wagon reached the town hall it stopped. The cages were taken\ndown from the branches of green, and little children, with eager hands\nand happy eyes, threw open the doors. Out came the birds and away they\nflew to field and orchard and wood, singing again and again:\n\n\"Oh! we are glad to be here! We are glad to be here!\"\n\nThe little children sang, too, and the gray-haired farmers said: \"The\nbirds must always stay in Killingworth.\"\n\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MYTH OF PAN\n\n\nIn a very far-away country, a long time ago, there lived a man who loved\nmusic and little children and the birds and flowers. And the little\nchildren loved Pan--for that was his name--because he told them such\nbeautiful stories and played on a set of pipes which he had made from\nthe reeds which grew by the river. Every evening, when it was time for\nthe sun to go to sleep and all the little stars to wake up, Pan would\ntake his pipes, go down to the river side, and play all the songs he\nknew. Everybody could hear Pan's music for miles and miles, but many of\nthem did not like his music, and wished that he would not play. Once\nsome of these people gathered together and planned how they could stop\nPan from playing his pipes, and while they were talking, some beetles\nnear by heard their plans. Now, one of these beetles had hurt his wing\nat one time and had fallen down in the dust on the road, and could go no\nfarther. It was a very hot day, and the poor little beetle was almost\ndead from the heat. Soon Pan came walking along and saw the beetle, and,\npicking it up very carefully, he carried it on some green leaves to a\nshady place, where he left it to rest and get well. The beetle had never\nforgotten Pan's kindness, and when he heard the plans these bad people\nhad made he said: \"Come, friends, and go with me, for we must hurry and\ntell Pan what the wicked people have planned, so that he will not be\nthere when they go to push him into the river.\"\n\nThe beetles had only one day in which to reach Pan, for the evil people\nwere going to carry out their plans the next night, so they spread their\nwings and flew as fast as they could fly. They could not travel far at a\ntime, because their wings grew very tired and their bodies were so\nheavy. When they could fly no longer they would walk, and when they were\ntired walking they would fly again. In this way they hurried on and on,\nfor the day was growing into night, and they could hear Pan playing his\nbeautiful songs way down by the river bank. They had almost reached him\nwhen they heard what seemed to be a crowd of people running through the\nbushes and among the trees, and it seemed that they were going toward\nthe river. Next there was a big splash and many voices talking loudly,\nand after that--silence. When the beetles reached the place where Pan\nalways sat they could not find him; but there in the river were his\npipes, which he loved so well.\n\nThe people had reached Pan before the beetles, and had pushed him into\nthe river, and his pipes fell in, too, but Pan did not wait to get them.\nHe climbed out and ran as fast as his feet would carry him. The people\nran after him, but he leaped and bounded over the bushes and flowers,\nand ran on and on. Sometimes they were almost upon him, but he always\nout-ran them. He wished to hide, but could find no place. He could not\nclimb the trees, for the people could climb trees, too, and he could not\nhide in the grass or under the bushes, for they would be sure to find\nhim there.\n\nAt last, along the river bank, he spied the little violets that had\nclosed their eyes, but were still gazing at the stars. One little violet\nseemed to say to him, \"I will hide you,\" and it folded its little petals\naround him. Pan was safe now, and from his hiding place he could hear\nthe people searching for him. They looked for a long time, but they did\nnot find him. He was happy and thankful, and, as he was very tired and\nthe soft petals of the violets made a pleasant resting place, he was\nsoon fast asleep.\n\nAway back on the river bank, where Pan always sat, were the beetles.\nThey were very sorry that they had not reached him in time to tell him\nthat the people were coming, and that they could not get his pipes out\nof the water, where they had fallen. And, though they never saw him\nagain, they always remembered him and the beautiful music he used to\nplay.\n\nOne day some little children were picking violets by the river, and they\nfound one little violet that had eyes just like Pan's eyes. They took it\nhome and named it Pan's Eye, in memory of their old friend, but, as that\nwas rather a hard name for the little children to say, they called it\nPansy.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BELL OF ATRI\n\n\nIn the little town of Atri, which was nestled on the side of a wooded\nhill, there was a strange custom.\n\nThe king had one day brought to the town a great bell, which he hung in\nthe market place beneath a shed, protected from the sun and rain. Then\nhe went forth with all his knightly train through the streets of Atri\nand proclaimed to all the people that whenever a wrong was done to any\none, he should go to the market place and ring the great bell, and\nimmediately the king would see that the wrong was righted.\n\nMany years had gone by. Many times the great bell had rung in the little\ntown of Atri, and, as the king had said, the wrongs of which it told,\nwere always righted.\n\nIn time, however, the great rope by which the bell was rung, unraveled\nat the end and was unwound, thread by thread. For a long time it\nremained this way, while the great bell hung silent. But close by, a\ngrape-vine grew, and, reaching upward, finally entwined its tendrils\naround the ragged end of the bell rope, making it strong and firm again\nas it grew around it, up toward the great bell itself.\n\nNow, in the town of Atri there lived a knight, who, in his younger days,\nhad loved to ride and hunt; but as he grew old he cared no more for\nthese things. He sold his lands, his horses and hounds, for he now loved\nonly the gold which the sale of them brought to him. This he hoarded and\nsaved, living poorly, that he might save the more.\n\nOnly one thing he kept--his favorite horse, who had served him\nfaithfully all his life. But even this faithful friend he kept in a poor\nold stable, often allowing him to go cold and hungry.\n\nFinally the old man said: \"Why should I keep this beast now? He is old\nand lazy, and no longer of any use to me. Besides, his food costs me\nmuch that I might save for myself. I will turn him out and let him find\nfood where he can.\"\n\nSo the faithful old horse, who had served his master all his days, was\nturned out without a home. He wandered through the streets of the town,\ntrying to find something to eat. Often the dogs barked at him, and the\ncold winds made him shiver as he wandered about, hungry and homeless,\nwith no one to care for him.\n\nOne summer afternoon, when all the drowsy little town seemed sleeping,\nthe tones of the great bell rang out, loud and clear, waking the people\nfrom their naps and calling them forth to see who was ringing the bell\nof justice.\n\nThe judge, with a great crowd following, hurried to the market place,\nbut when they came near, they stopped in surprise. No man was near, who\nmight have rung the bell; no one but a thin old horse, who stood quietly\nmunching the vine which grew around the bell rope. He had spied the\ngreen leaves growing there, and, being hungry, had reached for them,\nthus ringing the great bell of Atri, and calling forth the judge and all\nthe people.\n\n\"'Tis the old knight's horse,\" the people cried. Then many told the tale\nof how the old horse had been turned out to starve, while his master\nhoarded and saved his gold.\n\n\"The horse has rung the bell for justice, and justice he shall have,\"\nsaid the judge. \"Go, bring the old knight to me.\"\n\nThe knight was hurried to the place, where, before all the people, the\njudge censured him for his cruel treatment of his faithful old horse,\nand asked him to give a reason for it.\n\n\"The old beast is useless,\" said his master. \"He is mine, and I have a\nright to do with him as I wish.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" said the judge. \"He has served you faithfully all his life. He\ncan not speak to tell of his wrongs, so we must speak for him. Go, now;\ntake him home. Build a new stable and care for him well.\"\n\nThe old knight walked slowly home, while the horse was led behind by the\ncrowd.\n\nSo the Great Bell of Atri had righted one more wrong, for it was even as\nthe judge had commanded. The faithful old horse lived in comfort all the\nrest of his life, for his master, in caring for him, learned to love him\nagain, and treated him as only a faithful friend should be treated.\n\nWhen the king heard the story he said:\n\n\"Surely, never will the bell ring in a better cause than in speaking for\na suffering dumb creature who can not speak for himself.\"\n\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANXIOUS LEAF\n\n\nOnce upon a time a little leaf was heard to sigh and cry, as leaves\noften do when a gentle wind is about. And the twig said: \"What is the\nmatter, little leaf?\" And the leaf said: \"The wind just told me that one\nday it would pull me off and throw me down to die on the ground!\"\n\nThe twig told it to the branch on which it grew, and the branch told it\nto the tree. And when the tree heard it, it rustled all over, and sent\nback word to the leaf: \"Do not be afraid. Hold on tightly, and you shall\nnot go till you want to.\"\n\nAnd so the leaf stopped sighing, but went on nestling and singing. Every\ntime the tree shook itself and stirred up all its leaves, the branches\nshook themselves, and the little twig shook itself, and the little leaf\ndanced up and down merrily, as if nothing could ever pull it off. And so\nit grew all summer long, till October.\n\nAnd when the bright days of autumn came the little leaf saw all the\nleaves around becoming very beautiful. Some were yellow and some\nscarlet, and some striped with both colors. Then it asked the tree what\nit meant. And the tree said: \"All these leaves are getting ready to fly\naway, and they have put on these beautiful colors because of joy.\"\n\nThen the little leaf began to want to go, too, and grew very beautiful\nin thinking of it, and when it was very gay in color it saw that the\nbranches of the tree had no bright color in them, and so the leaf said:\n\"O branches! why are you lead-color and we golden?\"\n\n\"We must keep on our work-clothes, for our life is not done; but your\nclothes are for holiday, because your tasks are over,\" said the\nbranches.\n\nJust then a little puff of wind came, and the leaf let go, without\nthinking of it, and the wind took it up and turned it over and over, and\nwhirled it like a spark of fire in the air, and then it dropped gently\ndown under the edge of the fence, among hundreds of leaves, and fell\ninto a dream, and it never waked up to tell what it dreamed about.\n\n\n\n\nCOMING AND GOING\n\n\nThere came to our fields a pair of birds that had never built a nest nor\nseen a winter. How beautiful was everything! The fields were full of\nflowers and the grass was growing tall, and the bees were humming\neverywhere. Then one of the birds began singing, and the other bird\nsaid: \"Who told you to sing?\" And he answered: \"The flowers told me, and\nthe bees told me, and the winds and leaves told me, and the blue sky\ntold me, and you told me to sing.\" Then his mate answered: \"When did I\ntell you to sing?\" And he said: \"Every time you brought in tender grass\nfor the nest, and every time your soft wings fluttered off again for\nhair and feathers to line the nest.\" Then his mate said: \"What are you\nsinging about?\" And he answered: \"I am singing about everything and\nnothing. It is because I am so happy that I sing.\"\n\nBy and by five little speckled eggs were in the nest, and his mate said:\n\"Is there anything in all the world as pretty as my eggs?\" Then they\nboth looked down on some people that were passing by and pitied them\nbecause they were not birds.\n\nIn a week or two, one day, when the father bird came home, the mother\nbird said: \"Oh, what do you think has happened?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"One of my eggs has been peeping and moving!\" Pretty soon another egg\nmoved under her feathers, and then another and another, till five little\nbirds were hatched! Now the father bird sang louder and louder than\never. The mother bird, too, wanted to sing, but she had no time, and she\nturned her song into work. So hungry were these little birds that it\nkept both parents busy feeding them. Away each one flew. The moment the\nlittle birds heard their wings fluttering among the leaves, five little\nyellow mouths flew open wide, so that nothing could be seen but five\nyellow mouths!\n\n\"Can anybody be happier?\" said the father bird to the mother bird. \"We\nwill live in this tree always, for there is no sorrow here. It is a tree\nthat always bears joy.\"\n\nSoon the little birds were big enough to fly, and great was their\nparents' joy to see them leave the nest and sit crumpled up upon the\nbranches. There was then a great time, the two old birds talking and\nchatting to make the young ones go alone! In a little time they had\nlearned to use their own wings, and they flew away and away, and found\ntheir own food, and built their own nests, and sang their own songs with\njoy.\n\nThen the old birds sat silent and looked at each other, until the mother\nbird said: \"Why don't you sing?\" And he answered: \"I can't sing--I can\nonly think and think.\" \"What are you thinking of?\" \"I am thinking how\neverything changes. The leaves are falling off from this tree, and soon\nthere will be no roof over our heads; the flowers are all going; last\nnight there was a frost; almost all the birds have flown away. Something\ncalls me, and I feel as if I would like to fly away.\"\n\n\"Let us fly away together!\"\n\nThen they arose silently, and, lifting themselves far up in the air,\nthey looked to the north. Far away they saw the snow coming. They looked\nto the south. There they saw flowers and green leaves. All day they\nflew, and all night they flew and flew, till they found a land where\nthere was no winter--where flowers always blossom, and birds always\nsing.\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE DIMPLES CAME\n\n\nOne bright, beautiful spring day, when the earth was fresh in its new\ngreen dress decked with flowers, while the birds sang their sweetest\nsongs, and the brooks babbled merrily on their way to the rivers, two\nwee dimples were sent by Mother Nature on a journey to find their work\nin the world.\n\nIt was a delightful journey through the blue sky and past the fleecy\nwhite clouds.\n\nThey played and danced with the sunbeams who led them on their way to\nthe earth.\n\nThe dimples could see nothing for them to do, so on they went,\nfrolicking and playing.\n\nAt last they found themselves among the trees and the bright flowers of\nthe earth.\n\nThey chased the sunbeams under the leaves, they rode on the butterflies'\nwings, they sipped the honey with the bees from the flowers. Still, they\ncould find nothing to do. The sunbeams bade the dimples good-by and\nsilently crept home. \"Oh,\" said the dimples, \"what shall we do? We have\nno place to rest tonight.\" \"Here is a bird's nest; let us rest in this,\"\nsaid one dimple. \"No, that will never do,\" said the other dimple, \"for\nthere is the mother bird, who rests in her nest all night.\"\n\nJust then they spied a window swing open on its hinges. The tiny stars\ncame out and peeped into the window, and the lady-moon sent silvery\nmoonbeams down to help the dimples find a resting place. Then the\ndimples flew through the window, and there, close by, in her crib,\ncurtained around with white, was a wee baby, rosy, sweet, and bright.\n\n\"Oh,\" said one dimple, \"I would love to rest on that rosy cheek.\" \"So\nwould I,\" said the other dimple. And they each took a rosy cheek for a\ncouch, and here they rested the whole night long.\n\nThe robins early in the dawn sat on the cheery boughs and sang loud and\nlong, thus waking the dimples, who now knew not what to do. \"But,\" said\none dimple, \"we have not yet found our work.\" The other dimple said:\n\"Let us stay here. Baby's eyes are opening, and we must hide,\" and each\ndimple nestled away in baby's cheeks. Then her big, blue eyes opened\nwide, to see the sunbeams that had crept through the windows to her\ncrib.\n\nThe sunbeams coaxed the dimples to come out and play, but the dimples\nwould only peep out, and when they did, they brought smiles around\nbaby's rosy lips and sunny eyes.\n\n\"So you have found your work at last,\" said the sunbeams. And they had,\nfor they helped to bring out the smiles in baby's cheeks. If you look\nthe next time you see baby you may see the dimples playing hide and\nseek.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROUD LITTLE APPLE BLOSSOM\n\n\nIt was the month of May, but the wind still blew cool, for the sun was\nnot yet ready to shed his warmest rays on the waiting earth.\n\nYet some of the birds had come, and more were on their way, and many\nbeautiful blossoms were already showing their pink and white blooms, so\nthat from bush and tree, field and flower, came the glad cry, \"Spring is\nhere! Spring is here.\" Now, it happened that a young princess rode by a\nbeautiful orchard in full bloom, and she stopped to pick a branch of\napple blossoms to take to her palace. All who saw the apple blossom\npraised its beauty and fragrance until the blossom became proud, and\nthought that beauty was the only valuable thing in the world. But as the\napple blossom looked out upon the field she thought: \"Not all of the\nplants are rich and beautiful, as I am, some seem poor and plain.\" And\nshe noticed a little, common, yellow flower, which seemed to lift up its\nsunny head and grow everywhere.\n\nThe apple blossom said to the plain little flower, \"What is your name?\"\n\n\"I am called the dandelion,\" replied the little flower.\n\n\"Poor little plant,\" said the apple blossom. \"It is not your fault; but\nhow sad you must feel to be so plain and to bear such an ugly name.\"\n\nBefore the little plant could reply a lovely little sunbeam came dancing\nalong and said: \"I see no ugly flowers. They are all beautiful alike to\nme.\" And he kissed the apple blossom; but he stooped low and lingered\nlong to kiss the little yellow dandelion in the field.\n\nAnd then some little children came tripping across the field. The\nyoungest laughed when they saw the dandelions and kissed them with\ndelight. The older children made wreaths and dainty chains of them. They\npicked carefully those that had gone to seed, and tried to blow the\nfeathery down off with one breath, making joyous wishes.\n\n\"Do you see,\" said the sunbeam, \"the beauty of the dandelion?\"\n\n\"Only to children are they beautiful,\" said the proud apple blossom.\n\nBy and by an old woman came into the field. She gathered the roots of\nthe dandelions, out of which she made tea for the sick, and she sold\nothers for money to buy milk for the children.\n\n\"But beauty is better than all this,\" still said the proud little apple\nblossom. Just then the princess came along. In her hand she carried\nsomething that seemed like a beautiful flower. She covered it carefully\nfrom the wind. What do you think it was? It was the feathery crown of\nthe dandelion. \"See!\" she said, \"how beautiful it is! I will paint it in\na picture with the apple blossoms.\"\n\nThen the sunbeam kissed the apple blossom, and as he stooped low to kiss\nthe dandelion the apple blossom blushed with shame.\n\nHans Christian Andersen [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BRAVE KNIGHT\n\n\nWhen Christ was on earth, He had a little band of disciples who loved\nhim very much. The night before He went away from them, He took them to\na little upstairs room and there had a supper with them. And it was said\nthat at that supper, He used a beautiful golden cup in which He passed\nthe wine to them, and when He went away from earth, the disciples loved\neverything He had touched, and they seemed to love most of all this\ngolden cup. They called it the Holy Grail, and it was given to a very\ngood man, who cared for it carefully, and for years it passed from one\ngood man to another, for it was said that if it ever fell into the hands\nof a man who was not good and Christ-loving the cup would be lost.\n\nSo for many years it was carefully kept, and people took long journeys\nto see the Holy Grail, which the Master himself used when He was on\nearth. But one day the cup passed into the hands of one who was not\nworthy, and, as it had been said, it was lost.\n\nThey searched for it far and near, but it could not be found. Finally\nthere came some men who called themselves knights. They were brave,\nstrong men, who did many wonderful things for the king, and many of them\nsaid: \"We will spend our lives hunting for the Holy Grail. We will take\nlong pilgrimages until we find it.\" And so the knights searched over\nland and sea, over mountain and plain, hunting for the Holy Grail, but\nstill they found it not. Then there came a knight whose name was Sir\nLaunfal. He was very young--so young that he had never made a journey,\nnor worn an armor, nor had he ever done a wonderful deed. But he was\nbrave, and said in his heart: \"I will find the Holy Grail.\" So he went\nto the silversmith and had a beautiful silver armor and golden spurs\nmade, and to the helmet-maker, who made him a helmet of shining silver.\nNext he chose from the stables the finest steed, and he was then ready\nfor the journey, and Sir Launfal's heart was full of hope.\n\nOn the night before the pilgrimage he lay in his room, and the armor\nhung on the wall before him, with the helmet beside it, and the horse\nstood ready in the stable. At the first ray of morning he was to begin\nhis journey, and as he lay he slept, and dreamed a dream. He thought it\nwas already morning--the morning of his pilgrimage. He had on his armor\nand his silver helmet, and was riding out of the castle gate on his\nbeautiful steed. It was a June morning, and everything was beautiful.\nThe very flowers and green grass beneath his feet seemed to bring Sir\nLaunfal a message of hope. And as he rode his heart was very glad, and\nhe said: \"I shall find the Holy Grail.\" He was riding out of the great\ncastle gate when he heard a voice which was tired and weak, and it said:\n\"Will you please give me something?\" Sir Launfal looked in surprise, and\nthere, crouching beside the castle gate, was a beggar, poor and ragged\nand weak, and it was he who had asked in a tired voice, \"Will you please\ngive me something?\" Sir Launfal looked at him and frowned, and said in\nhis heart, \"Why does this beggar lie at my castle gate to spoil the\nbeauty of the morning?\" But, because he was a knight and felt that he\nmust give something, he took from his purse a piece of gold and threw it\nto the beggar. But the beggar looked at him and said, seeing his\nscornful frown: \"I do not wish your gold that you give with scorn.\nBetter to me a poor man's crust.\" But Sir Launfal rode proudly down the\nroad on his way, for he felt that he could no longer listen to the poor\nbeggar. Then he rode over land and sea, over mountain and plain,\nsearching everywhere for the Holy Grail, and, although it sometimes\nseemed very near, he did not find it.\n\nHe had now grown to be an old man. The helmet and armor were rusted, his\nclothes had become thin and ragged, he was stooped and gray, and his\neyes had grown dim with the years, but still he searched, and said in\nhis heart: \"I will find the Holy Grail.\" Then he seemed to be near his\nold home one night, and he said to himself: \"Before I go on my way I\nwill once more look at my old home.\" And he entered the gate, and as he\nwas walking up the path he heard a voice, tired and weak, and it said:\n\"Will you please give me something?\" He looked down, and there by his\nfeet lay the beggar who had asked for something at his castle gate the\nmorning he had started on his pilgrimage.\n\nThis time Sir Launfal looked at him and smiled. Then he said: \"I have\nonly a crust of bread, but I will gladly share it with you.\" Then,\ntaking from his pocket a single crust of bread, he stooped and gave the\nhalf to the beggar. Then Sir Launfal said: \"I will get you water to\nquench your thirst,\" and he went to where the little spring ran merrily\nalong in the twilight, and, taking from his pocket a little tin cup,\nbattered and rusted from years of use, he filled it to the brim with\nclear, cold water, and returned with it to the beggar. As soon as the\ntin cup touched the beggar's hand it turned into a shining cup of gold,\nand behold! the beggar was no longer there, but in his place there stood\na man, tall, strong and beautiful, wearing shining white garments, and\naround his head there seemed a radiant glow of light. The beautiful man\nlooked at Sir Launfal, and he said, in a voice full of love and\ngentleness: \"In your own castle yard you have found the Holy Grail by\ndoing kindly service to one of my needy ones.\"\n\nThe beautiful man was gone. Sir Launfal lay in his room. The morning\nsunlight came in through the window, telling him it was time to arise\nand go on his journey. And his helmet and armor still hung on the wall,\nready for him; but Sir Launfal lay long in thought. There was no need of\nhis long pilgrimage, for the poor and the needy were close to his door,\nand he stayed to help them with gifts of love.\n\nJames Russell Lowell [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nKING ROBERT OF SICILY\n\n\nKing Robert was ruler of all Sicily. Many lands and beautiful castles\nwere his, and he had many servants, who obeyed his every word; but they\nobeyed not because they loved him, but because they feared him. He was a\nproud king, and haughty--that is, he would look over his lands, and he\nwould say: \"Surely, this is a great kingdom, and I am a great king!\"\n\nOne Easter Sunday morning, King Robert went to church. He wore his\nfinest robes, and riding with him were all of his lords and ladies. The\nmorning was beautiful, and everything seemed to bear a message of love\nand joy. The grass and flowers that grew by the roadside, the trees that\nwaved their branches above, and the blue sky, all seemed to bear the\nsame message.\n\nBut King Robert saw nothing beautiful. He was thinking only of himself.\nThey reached the church, and the sunlight came through the beautiful\nwindows, seeming to speak of God above. The pure white lilies on the\naltar whispered to each other, \"On this day Christ was risen!\" The music\nfrom the organ seemed to reach every heart, but King Robert sat unmoved\nin his pew. When the minister spoke, the king heard nothing of the\nsermon until certain words caught his ear. The minister was saying these\nwords: \"The Lord can exalt the humble and can bring down the proud and\nmighty from their seats.\" The choir chanted the words again and again.\n\nAs the king heard, he threw back his head and said: \"Why do they teach\nsuch words as these? There is no power on earth or in heaven above that\ncould take my throne.\"\n\nBy and by the king fell asleep in his pew. He must have slept a long\ntime, for when he awoke the great church was dark and the moonlight was\nstreaming through the great glass windows. The king sprang to his feet\nin alarm, and said: \"How dare they go away and leave me alone?\" He\nrushed quickly to the door, but it was locked. He called loudly and\nknocked upon the door, and finally the old sexton, asleep on the\noutside, heard the noise and shouted: \"Who is there?\" And the king\nanswered: \"It is I--the king. Open the door!\"\n\nThe old sexton shook his head and murmured to himself: \"It must be some\nmadman locked in the church,\" but he unlocked the door, and the king\nrushed wildly out--on out in the street, where the moonlight fell upon\nhim. Then suddenly he stopped and gazed at his clothes in amazement, for\ninstead of wearing his royal robes he wore nothing but rags. His crown\nwas gone, and he seemed a beggar, and he cried out: \"How can these\nthings be? Some one has robbed me while I have slept, and left me these\nrags.\"\n\nThen he rushed on to the great castle, and at the gate he again called:\n\"Open! I, the king, am here.\" The great gate swung open and the king\nrushed on through the great castle halls, never pausing until he reached\nthe throne room, and there he stopped and stood looking in surprise and\namazement, for there on his throne sat another king, wearing his crown\nand wearing his robes, and holding in his hand his scepter. King Robert\nlooked at the new king and cried: \"Why do you sit on my throne, wearing\nmy robes and my crown and my scepter?\"\n\nThe new king only smiled and said: \"I am the king, and who art thou?\"\n\nKing Robert threw back his head haughtily and answered: \"I am the king.\nYou have no right on my throne.\"\n\nAt these words the strange king smiled sadly, and replied: \"I am the\nking, and thou shalt be my servant. Yes, thou shalt be the servant of\nall my servants, for thou shalt be court jester, and wear the cap and\nbells, and have for your companion the ugly ape.\"\n\nBefore King Robert could say more, the servants came and hurried him\nthrough the castle halls, down to a little room, cold and bare, with\nnothing but a pile of straw in a corner, and there they left him alone,\nsave for the ugly ape, which sat in the corner grinning at him. As King\nRobert looked down on the rough pile of straw he said: \"It must surely\nbe a dream, and I will awaken in the morning and find myself the king.\"\n\nThe morning came, but when he awoke he heard the rustle of the straw\nbeneath him, and there in the corner still sat the ugly ape. That day\nthe new king called him to the throne, and, looking at him, said: \"Art\nthou the king?\" And King Robert proudly threw back his head as before\nand answered: \"I am the king.\"\n\nAnd each day the new king sent for him and asked him the same question,\nand each day King Robert gave the same proud and haughty answer. One day\nthere came a summons to the court--King Robert's brother, the Emperor of\nRome, sent word for King Robert and all of his court to visit him at\nEaster-time, and great preparations were made for the journey. When the\ntrain was ready it formed a beautiful procession. The new king rode at\nits head, in his splendor, and all the beautiful ladies and the brave\nknights came riding behind in their gorgeous robes. At the last of this\nsplendid train rode King Robert on a queer old mule. He had on the cap\nand bells, and behind him sat the ugly ape, and, as they passed along\nthe street, the boys laughed and jeered; but King Robert said to\nhimself: \"They will not laugh long,\" because his heart was glad now, for\nthey were going to Rome, where his own brother ruled, and now surely he\nwould be restored to his rights, for his brother would see and know that\nthe new king was an impostor. Thus the splendid train rode to Rome, and\nthe emperor was there to meet them.\n\nWhen the emperor saw the strange king he went to him and embraced him\nand called him \"brother.\" At this, King Robert rushed forward and cried\nout: \"I am the king, thy brother. This man is an impostor. Do you not\nknow me? I am the king.\" But the emperor only looked at him strangely,\nand, turning to the strange king, he said: \"Why do you keep this madman\nat your court?\" The new king only smiled, and made no answer.\n\nThe visit ended, and again the splendid train passed back to Sicily, and\nKing Robert still rode behind. His heart was very sad, because he\nthought: \"If my own brother knows me not, what hope can there be?\"\n\nWhen the new king came back to Sicily he changed many of the cruel laws,\nand the whole land was made glad and happy, as it had never been before.\nKing Robert noticed the change and wondered at it.\n\nIt was Easter-time again, and King Robert said in his heart, \"I will go\nto church again this morning.\" Behind all the procession he rode, as\nusual, and took his seat in the back of the church, so that no one might\nsee him. Everything was beautiful at this Easter-time. The church, the\nflowers, the music, all bore the Easter message. When the music began it\ncrept into King Robert's heart, and as he listened the tears rolled down\nhis cheek, and he bowed his head in prayer. The first words that he\nheard were the old, familiar ones: \"The Lord can exalt the humble and\nbring down the proud and mighty from their seats.\" As poor King Robert\nlistened he humbly bowed his head and said: \"Ah, surely that is true;\nthe Lord in heaven is mightiest of all. He is the king.\"\n\nWhen the king and his court had reached home again that day, the new\nking called King Robert immediately to his throne room, and upon his\nface there seemed to be a glorious light shining forth, and, looking at\nKing Robert with a wondrous smile, he asked the old, old question: \"Art\nthou the king?\" But King Robert only bowed his head and said: \"I know\nnot who I am. I only know that I am the most humble and most unworthy of\nall men to be the king.\" To these words the new king replied: \"Thou art\nindeed the king, and I--I am an angel sent from Heaven to help thee for\na little while.\"\n\nWhen King Robert raised his head, behold! he was alone. The angel had\ngone. He again had on his own robes, his own crown, and was bearing his\nown scepter.\n\nThat day, when the courtiers came to wait upon the king, they found him\nkneeling beside his throne in prayer.\n\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREAT STONE FACE\n\n\nOne afternoon, when the sun was going down, a mother and her little boy\nsat at the door of their cottage talking together and watching the great\nmountains before them, as they changed with the tints of the setting\nsun, from gold to crimson, and then to deep purple, till finally the\nafterglow was gone, leaving only the bare mountains standing out in gray\nrelief against the evening sky.\n\n\"Mother,\" said the child, whose name was Ernest, \"the Great Stone Face\nis smiling at us. I wish it could speak, for it looks so very kind that\nI know its voice is pleasant.\"\n\nAnd what was the Great Stone Face?\n\nOff in the distance one great mountain rose far up above the others, and\nstood like a great giant among its fellows. By some peculiar art the\nrocks had been thrown together in such a way as to make the mountain\nlook almost exactly like a human face. There was the broad arch of the\nforehead, a hundred feet in length; the nose, with its long bridge, and\nthe great lips, which, if they could have spoken, would surely have\nrolled thunder from one end of the valley to the other.\n\nIt was a happy lot for children to grow up to manhood or womanhood with\nthe Great Stone Face before their eyes, because all of its features were\nnoble, so that just to look at it made one wish to be better.\n\nThis, then, was what Ernest and his mother sat looking at long after the\nsun had sunk behind those great piles of stones.\n\n\"Mother,\" said Ernest, \"if I were to see a man with such a face I know I\nshould love him.\"\n\n\"If an old prophecy comes true,\" answered his mother, \"we may see a man\nsome time or other with exactly such a face as that.\"\n\n\"Oh, tell me about it, mother. Will it really come true?\" eagerly\ninquired Ernest.\n\nThen his mother told him a story which her mother had told to her when\nshe was a child. No one knew who had heard it first. The Indians had\nknown it years before, and they said it had been murmured by the\nmountain streams and whispered by the wind among the treetops. And the\nstory was this: At some future day--no one knew when--a child would be\nborn in the valley who would grow up to be the noblest and greatest man\nof his time, and his face would look exactly like the Great Stone Face\nwhich had gazed kindly down on the valley for so many years. Many of the\npeople in the valley said this was only a foolish tale, never to come to\npass, but a few still watched and waited, hoping for the great man to\ncome, but as yet he had not appeared.\n\nWhen Ernest heard the story he clapped his hands, and said eagerly: \"Oh,\nmother, dear mother, I do hope I shall live to see him.\"\n\nThe mother smiled, and, putting her hand on the boy's head, said:\n\"Perhaps you may.\"\n\nErnest never forgot the story his mother told him. It was always in his\nmind whenever he looked upon the Great Stone Face. He spent his boyhood\ndays in the humble little cottage, helping his mother with the simple\nhousehold duties, and, as he grew older, working in the fields to earn\ntheir daily bread.\n\nErnest was a quiet boy, but happy. There was no school in the little\nvillage, but a great teacher was there. After the day's toil was over\nErnest would sit for hours watching the Great Stone Face, and to him it\nbecame the teacher of all that was good and noble. Many times, as the\nsunset rays tinted the side of the great mountain and lighted up all the\nfeatures of the wonderful face, Ernest would imagine that it smiled on\nhim, and perhaps it did. Who knows?\n\nOften a great longing would come to Ernest as he watched the Great Face,\nand he would say again, \"Oh, I wish the great man would come.\"\n\nBut the years passed by, and Ernest grew from a happy little child to a\nquiet, thoughtful boy, and still the great man did not appear.\n\nBut one time a rumor went through all the valley that the great man had\nat last arrived. His early home had been in the quiet valley, but as a\nyoung man he had gone into the world to seek his fortune, and truly he\nhad found it, for everything he attempted prospered exceedingly, till it\nmight be said of him, as of Midas in the fable, that whatever his\nfingers touched changed at once to piles of gold. His name was Mr.\nGathergold. All who saw him declared him to be the exact image of the\nGreat Stone Face on the mountain side, and the man so long expected to\nfulfill the prophecy.\n\nThe whole valley was in a state of great excitement, for the wonderful\npersonage was coming back to his native home to spend his last days in\npeace and quiet. He sent before him a whole army of architects and\nworkmen, who built for him a palace more beautiful and grand than\nanything the simple village people had ever before seen.\n\nThe outside was of pure marble, dazzling white, while the interior was\ninlaid with solid gold and precious stones.\n\nErnest watched the great palace grow, and his heart was glad, for\nfinally his hopes were to come true. He waited eagerly for the great man\nhimself to come. He spent more time than usual gazing at the face on the\nmountain side, that he might know exactly how Mr. Gathergold would look.\n\nFinally the day of the great man's arrival came. The whole village came\nout to see him. The rumbling of wheels was heard, and a carriage drawn\nby four horses dashed down the road.\n\n\"Here he comes!\" cried the people. \"Here comes the great Mr.\nGathergold!\"\n\nAs the carriage drew near the people pressed around, and there through\nthe window they saw the great man. He was little and old, with a face as\nhard and yellow as the piles of gold he had gathered together. He had a\nlow forehead, small, sharp eyes, puckered about with many wrinkles, and\nvery sharp lips.\n\n\"The very image of the Great Stone Face!\" shouted the people. \"Sure\nenough, the old prophecy is true, and here we have the great man come at\nlast.\"\n\nBy the roadside there chanced to be a poor woman and her two children,\nwho, as the carriage passed, held out their hands and asked for help. A\nhand was thrust out of the window, and a few pennies were thrown on the\nground. Then the carriage rolled on, and the people continued to shout,\n\"He is the very image of the Great Stone Face.\"\n\nBut Ernest stood apart from the crowd, nor did he join in the shout, for\nhis heart was full of sorrow and disappointment. Through an opening in\nthe trees he saw the Great Stone Face looking benignly down upon him,\nand the great lips seemed to say: \"He will come. Fear not, Ernest. The\nman will come.\"\n\nThe years went on, and Ernest ceased to be a boy. He had grown to be a\nyoung man now. He was not much noticed in the valley, for he was still\nquiet and modest. They saw nothing remarkable about his way of living,\nsave that when the work of the day was done he loved to go apart and\ngaze upon the Great Stone Face.\n\nThey knew not that it had become his greatest teacher, filling his heart\nand mind with thoughts and hopes far above earthly things.\n\nBy this time poor old Mr. Gathergold was dead and buried, and the\nstrange part about the matter was that when his wealth left him, as it\ndid some time before he died, and he became a poor old man, the people\nseemed to forget that there ever had been a resemblance to the Great\nStone Face. Indeed, they said it was all a mistake, and the great man\nwas yet to come.\n\nSuddenly through the valley there ran another rumor. Years before a\nyoung man had left the valley, had gone into the world as a warrior, and\nfinally had become a great commander. Such had been his character and\nlife that the illustrious man was called by the name of Old\nBlood-and-Thunder. This old general, being worn out with warfare,\ndecided to return to his native valley and spend his last days in peace.\nBut the most wonderful thing about Old Blood-and-Thunder was the fact\nthat all who knew him said that he was the man so long hoped for in the\nvalley, for he looked exactly like the Great Stone Face.\n\nGreat preparations, therefore, were made to receive the General--a\nbanquet was to be given and speeches made in his honor. On the day of\nthe festival Ernest, with all the others of the village, left their work\nand went to the woods, where the banquet was held. A great crowd\nsurrounded the tables, so that Ernest at first could not see the great\nman for whom he had waited and hoped so long, so he contented himself\nwith looking at the great face on the mountain side, which he could see\nplainly through the trees. Meanwhile he could hear those around him\ntalking about Old Blood-and-Thunder and the Great Stone Face.\n\n\"'Tis the same face, to a hair,\" cried one man, clapping his hands for\njoy.\n\n\"Wonderfully like, that's a fact,\" said another.\n\n\"Like! Why, I call it Old Blood-and-Thunder himself, in a monstrous\nlooking-glass,\" cried a third.\n\nJust then a silence fell on the crowd, for the General rose to speak,\nand as he did so Ernest for the first time saw the hero. There he stood,\nhead and shoulders above the crowd, with the golden epaulets glittering\non his uniform. Long and eagerly Ernest gazed on his face, and then\nbeyond, to the one on the mountain side. Were they, indeed, alike?\nErnest saw in the warrior's face only cruelty and hardness, with none of\nthe tender sympathy he knew so well in the other face.\n\n\"This is not the man,\" sighed Ernest, as he turned sadly away. \"Must we\nwait longer yet?\"\n\nBut as the great mountain rose before him, once again the lips seemed to\nsay: \"Fear not, Ernest; fear not. He will come.\"\n\nThe years sped swiftly by. Ernest still lived in the valley, a quiet and\ngentle man, doing his work as best he knew. But gradually the people of\nthe village had come to know and feel that Ernest knew more than they.\nNot a day passed by that the world was not better because this man,\nhumble as he was, had lived. He would always help a neighbor in need,\nand the people had learned to know where to come for aid. His thoughts\nwere of things good and noble, and so his deeds and words were always\ngood.\n\nBy this time the people had seen their mistake in thinking Old\nBlood-and-Thunder was the great man of prophecy; but now again there\nwere reports saying that without doubt the great man had at last\nappeared. He, like Mr. Gathergold and Old Blood-and-Thunder, was a\nnative of the valley, but had left it as a young man, and had now become\na great man. He had not the rich man's wealth, nor the honor of the\nGeneral, but he had a tongue which could speak more beautiful words than\nthe world had ever heard before. Great crowds flocked to hear him from\nall parts of the country.\n\nThe people of the village were proud to think that they could claim the\ngreat man, for it was said he bore an exact likeness to the Great Stone\nFace--so much so that they called him \"Old Stony Phiz.\"\n\nAnd now the illustrious man was once more coming to visit his native\nland, and great preparations were made to receive him.\n\nWith great eagerness and hope Ernest waited for his coming, and on the\nday appointed went with the crowd to meet him. The air was filled with\nmusic and the shouts of the people, for now they felt that surely the\nold prophecy was to be fulfilled.\n\nThen the great man's carriage came in view. There he sat, smiling and\nbowing to the people, while they threw up their hats in wild excitement\nand enthusiasm, and shouted: \"Hoorah for Old Stony Phiz. The great man\nhas come at last.\"\n\nErnest looked long at the man as he sat in his carriage, but finally\nturned away sadly and slowly, and said: \"The features are alike, but he\nhas not the heart nor the love and sympathy which make a face beautiful.\nHe is not the man, but he might have been, had he lived the best he\nknew.\"\n\nThen again he turned to his great teacher on the mountain side, and, as\nthe late afternoon sun tinted all its features, it seemed to smile on\nErnest, and once more the lips seemed to speak:\n\n\"Lo, here I am, Ernest. I have waited longer than thou, and am not yet\nweary. Fear not. The man will come.\"\n\nThe years hurried onward, and now they began to bring white hairs and\nscatter them over the head of Ernest. They made wrinkles across his\nforehead and furrows in his cheeks. He was an old man; but more than the\nwhite hairs on his head were the beautiful thoughts in his mind, and the\nloving words from his lips, and the kindly deeds from his hands. He was\nno longer unknown. Great men from far and near came to see and talk with\nhim, and as they went away their hearts were better for having been with\nhim. He had become a preacher, and often, just as the sun set, he would\nstand on a little knoll and talk with the people who crowded to hear the\nwords he spoke.\n\nOne evening, as Ernest sat at his doorstep, a friend came to talk with\nhim. He was a poet, and wrote of things which God had made, in language\nso beautiful that one wished always to hear it. Ernest loved to read his\nwords, and this evening, as they sat together, he looked long and\nearnestly at the poet and then up at the Great Stone Face, which seemed\nto be smiling down upon them. Then he sighed and shook his head sadly.\n\n\"Why are you sad?\" asked the poet.\n\nThen Ernest told him of the prophecy which he had longed all his life to\nsee fulfilled. \"And,\" he said, \"when I read your beautiful words, I\nthink surely you are worthy to be the man I have longed to see, and yet\nI see no likeness.\"\n\nThe poet sadly shook his head, and said: \"No, Ernest. I am not worthy.\nMy words, indeed, may be beautiful, but my life has not been so great\nand good as the words I write.\"\n\nThen, as sunset drew near, the two walked to the little knoll where\nErnest was to talk to the people.\n\nHe stood in a little niche, with the mountains above him, and the glory\nof the evening sun shone around his silvered hair. At a distance could\nbe seen the Great Stone Pace, surrounded by a golden light.\n\nAs Ernest talked his face glowed with the depth of his feeling, and\nsuddenly the poet threw his arms above his head and shouted:\n\n\"Behold! Behold! Ernest is himself the likeness of the Great Stone\nFace!\"\n\nThen all the people looked and saw that what the poet had said was true.\nThe prophecy was fulfilled. The Great Man had come at last.\n\nNathaniel Hawthorne [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE\n\n\nIn a forest in the far, far East grew a great many pine trees. Most of\nthem were tall trees, higher than the houses that we see, and with wide,\nstrong branches. But there was one tree that was not nearly so tall as\nthe others; in fact, it was no taller than some of the children in the\nkindergarten.\n\nNow, the tall trees could see far, far out over the hilltops and into\nthe valleys, and they could hear all the noises that went on in the\nworld beyond the forest, but the Little Tree was so small and the other\ntrees grew so high and thick about it that it could not see nor hear\nthese things at all; but the other trees were very kind, and they would\nstoop down and tell them to the Little Tree. One night in the winter\ntime there seemed to be something strange happening in the little town\namong the hills, for the trees did not go to sleep after the sun went\ndown, but put their heads together and spoke in strange, low whispers\nthat were full of awe and wonder. The Little Tree, from its place close\ndown to the ground, did not understand what it was all about. It\nlistened awhile, and then lifted its head as high as ever it could and\nshouted to its tall neighbor: \"Will you not stoop and tell me what is\nhappening?\" And the big tree stooped down and whispered: \"The shepherds\nout on the hilltops are telling strange stories while they watch their\nsheep. The air is filled with sweet music, and there is a wonderful star\ncoming up in the east, traveling westward always, and the shepherds say\nthat they are waiting for it to stop and shine over a humble stable in\ntheir little town. I have not heard why it is going to stop there, but I\nwill look again and listen.\" So the tall tree lifted up its head again,\nand reached far out so that it might hear more of the wonderful story.\n\nBye and bye it stooped down again, and whispered to the Little Tree:\n\"Oh, Little Tree, listen! There are angels among the shepherds on the\nhills, and they are all talking together. They seem to be awaiting the\nbirth of a little child, who will be a king among the people, and the\nbeautiful star will shine above the stable where the little king will be\nlaid in a manger.\" The tree again raised its head to listen, and the\nLittle Tree, much puzzled, thought within itself: \"It is very strange,\nindeed. * * * Oh, how I wish that I could see it all!\"\n\nIt waited a little longer, and everything grew quiet, and a great peace\ncame upon the forest. * * * Then suddenly the town, and even the forest\nwas illuminated with a strange, white light that made everything as\nbright as day, and the air was filled with the flutter of angels' wings,\nand with music such as the world had never heard before.\n\nThe people and the trees, even the stars in the heaven, lifted up their\nvoices and sang together * * * and the whole world was filled with music\nand joy and love for the little Christ-child who had come to dwell upon\nthe earth.\n\nThe Little Tree was filled with fear and wonder, for so great was the\nexcitement that the other trees had almost forgotten it, and it could\nnot understand the mysterious sounds; but bye and bye its tall friend\nsaid: \"Listen, listen, Little Tree! Such news I have to tell! The Christ\nhas come--the King! And the whole world is singing such beautiful music.\nThere are wise men coming from the East, bringing beautiful gifts to the\nChrist-child. The angels, too, are upon the earth, and they bear gifts\nof gold and rare, beautiful stones. Wait! I will tell you more.\"\n\nThe tall tree had scarcely lifted up its head when it stooped again and\nwhispered to the Little Tree: \"Look! Look! Little Tree! They are coming\nthis way; the angels are coming here, into our forest! Lift up your head\nhigh and you will see them as they pass.\"\n\nThe Little Tree lifted up its head and saw the white flutter of angel\nrobes and heard the weird, sweet voices of the heavenly host who came\nwith precious gifts into the forest.\n\n\"Oh,\" said the Little Tree, \"they are coming here, toward me! What\nshall I do?\" And in fear it bent its head so low that it almost touched\nthe ground. But the music came nearer and nearer, and the Little Tree\nfelt a tender hand upon its branches, and a soft, gentle voice said to\nit: \"Arise, Little Tree, and come with us, for we have come into the\nforest to seek you. Yes, you, the very smallest among the trees, are to\nbe our gift-bearer. Come; lift up your head.\"\n\nIn fear and trembling the Little Tree did as the angel bade it. But when\nit looked into the angel's face and saw the love and kindness there, all\nfear was gone, and it said to the angel: \"Yes; make me ready. I will\ncome with you to the little Christ-child in the manger.\" So all the\nangels brought their gifts of precious jewels and shining gold, and\nfastened them upon the branches of the Little Tree. Then the leader of\nthe angels' band took up the Little Tree from the ground and bore it,\nladen with its precious burden, to the feet of the Christ-child.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF ABRAHAM\n\n\nLong, long ago there lived in the far away land of Ur a man who was very\nwealthy. His name was Abraham. The country in which he lived was\nbeautiful and very rich. The fields were not only well watered by rivers\nand streams, but were carefully cultivated. Corn, dates, apples and\ngrapes grew there abundantly. Fine harvests were reaped from their\nfarms. Splendid herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were pastured in the\nmeadows. In the city were beautiful homes, for the people were\nprosperous. They painted fine pictures and cut beautiful figures out of\nmarble blocks, and were fond of music. But Abraham was not so much\ninterested in the city as in the country, for he belonged to a family of\nshepherds. He did not care so much for walled cities as for meadow\nlands, forest trees and running streams. When Abraham grew a little\nolder he became very thoughtful, and began to dislike the ways of the\npeople of Ur, for they were idolaters. So when some of the servants\nbrought back from the city, idols into his father's home, he broke them.\nHis one desire was to do right and to be good.\n\nOne day, when he was herding his cattle not far from his father's home,\nhe heard a strange Voice saying to him: \"Get thee out of thy country and\nfrom thy kindred, and come unto a land which I shall show thee.\" He was\ngreatly surprised, and looked around to find out who was speaking to\nhim. He saw no man, so he thought that the Voice was only a fancy or a\nday dream. A few days after, when he was bringing home some wandering\nsheep, he heard the same Voice, the same words, and thought he saw a\ngleam of light. He felt that God was speaking to him, but the words made\nhim very sad. If he obeyed the Voice he knew that he would have to leave\nhis friends, the fields where he sported with his boy companions and\nloved ones, but something within him kept saying that he ought to obey\nthe Voice, because it was God's Voice. So he resolved to take his\nnephew, Lot, with him, and set out for the Promised Land. The day for\nstarting came. Great bundles of goods were put upon the camels and led\noff by the drivers. Flocks of sheep and herds of cattle filled the\nmorning air with their bleatings and their bellowings. Some of the\npeople thought that Abraham was very foolish to undertake such a\njourney, and would certainly come to grief. His brother Nahor pleaded\nwith Abraham not to go. He told Abraham about a great desert that he\nwould have to cross. Even if he crossed it safely, the people in that\nfar away country were very cruel, and would fight them and kill them,\nand make slaves of their children. Abraham listened to his brother, and\nsaid that he knew there were difficulties ahead of him, but he must obey\nthe Voice of God. Then his face brightened, when he added that he felt\nsure God would watch over them all as a shepherd watches over his sheep.\nHe looked brave and noble as he bade them all good-by and started off.\n\nAt the close of the first day they halted beside a stream, where the\ncattle drank and rested until morning. The servants pitched a number of\ntents and made Abraham and his family comfortable. Abraham rolled\ntogether a few big stones and built an altar, and in the presence of his\nfamily and servants offered up an evening sacrifice and prayed that God\nshould guide them and their little ones into the Promised Land. After\nmany weary days and nights they reached Canaan. It was a beautiful\ncountry, full of vines and harvest fields, and pasture lands. The\nvalleys were warm and the highlands were cool. Here and there on the\nhillsides they saw the oak, the sycamore, and the pine growing. Best of\nall, the people were kind to Abraham and his servants, and helped them\nto get settled in their new homes. Their new friends were not so rich as\ntheir old ones. They wore rough garments made of camel's hair and\nfastened round the waist with a belt. They lived in rough huts and rocky\ncaves, and were warlike. But they treated Abraham generously and were\nvery kind to the little children. Abraham was delighted with the\nPromised Land, although he passed through many a severe trial in it.\n\nThere was one joy, however, that brightened his life--God had given him\na beautiful son. The little boy had grown to be a strong, beautiful\nyouth. His mother took loving care in making his little garments, and\nhis father gave him a pet lamb, and often brought home to him a wild\nbird. Abraham was growing old, and thought of the day when his boy would\nbe a strong man, caring for herds and flocks. Many a time he prayed to\nGod for his boy, that he might be true and brave and good, and worthy of\nthe promises that God had made to him concerning his people. But one\nday, when he was returning from a visit to his herdsmen and was resting\nbeside a well in the grove which he had planted in Beersheba, he heard\nthe Voice again saying: \"Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, and offer\nhim up for a sacrifice on a mount which I shall show thee.\" Abraham was\ngrieved. He said to himself: \"I have left Ur and the land of my brother\nand my father. I have endured many hardships, and surely I will not be\ncalled upon to sacrifice my only son, my sweet, loving boy. I can not\nbear it. His mother can not live when she hears of it.\" But the Voice\nsaid more earnestly than ever: \"Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, and\noffer him up for a sacrifice on the mount that I shall show thee.\" He\nknew that it was the same Voice that had spoken to him many times, and\nthat he must obey it. And there gradually came into his life strength\nand a willingness to obey the Voice. After necessary preparation\nAbraham, his son, and his servants set out for the mountain. For three\ndays they journeyed under divine guidance, until they came to the foot\nof the mount. Then Abraham said to his servants: \"Abide ye here, and I\nand the lad will go and worship yonder, and come unto you again.\" The\nyoung lad was happy over the coming sacrifice. He shouldered the bundle\nof wood and started off up the hillside. But he did not see the lamb,\nand, turning to his father, said: \"Behold the fire and the wood, but\nwhere is the lamb for the burnt offering?\" The question so innocently\nasked grieved the father's heart, for he knew that God had commanded him\nto offer up his son instead of a lamb. He felt that he could not tell\nhis boy about it, so he said: \"God Himself will provide a lamb for the\nburnt offering.\" At last they came to the spot where the sacrifice was\nto be offered. The father, very sad and broken-hearted, began rolling\ntogether some stones for an altar. Slowly he laid the wood in its place,\nand wept when he thought of the sacrifice. Then with a tearful voice he\ntold the lad that he was to be the sacrifice. He laid the boy upon the\naltar and kissed him. At that moment he heard a Voice, louder than ever\nbefore, saying: \"Abraham.\" He answered, \"Here am I.\" The Voice said:\n\"Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do any harm unto him, for now I\nknow that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son,\nthine only son, from me.\" With glad wonder Abraham looked around, and\nthere, to his great surprise, a ram was caught in some thick bushes.\nHurriedly he caught the ram, unbound his son, and offered up the ram as\na sacrifice with great joy. And, kneeling beside the altar, the aged\nfather thanked God, and homeward they returned with glad hearts and\nhappy spirits.\n\nAnd Isaac grew to be a good and noble man, and the Lord prospered him.\nHis father, Abraham, lived many years in the Promised Land, and when he\ndied the whole country was full of grief, and with sorrow mingled with\nlove they followed the aged saint to the sunny slopes of beautiful\nMacpelah and laid him in the tomb. Each whispered to the other that he\nwas a good and brave man. Many a time they would visit the cave where\nthe great man lay and tell one another about his wonderful life, his\nmany trials, his noble faith, and how he always obeyed the Voice of God.\n\nOn a rough stone beside the tomb a friend chiseled the words: \"Abraham,\nthe Friend of God.\"\n\nBible [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF MOSES\n\n\nMany years ago, the Heavenly Father sent a baby boy into a home in a far\ncountry.\n\nWhen a baby comes to your home you want to tell every one you see, do\nyou not?\n\nBut in that little home it was very different. Miriam, the baby's\nsister, could not tell any one about the little brother, and the poor\nmother had to keep the baby hidden away. Shall I tell you why?\n\nIn that country there lived a wicked king, who did not love little\nchildren, and whenever he heard that a boy baby had come into a house he\nsent his soldiers to take the baby away.\n\nThis mother loved her baby dearly, and she wanted to keep him always.\nBut when the baby began to grow, and to laugh and to cry, just as all\nbabies do, the mother's heart was very sad, for she knew she could hide\nhim no longer.\n\nOne day she took the baby and went down to the river. There she gathered\na great many of the tall grasses that grew on the river bank, and of\nthese grasses she made a little basket, or ark, just large enough to\nhold the baby. She wove it carefully, and when it was finished she\ncovered it over with pitch and slime, so that no water could come into\nit.\n\nThen she lifted her baby, put him into the queer little basket, carried\nthe basket to the river and set it down carefully in the water. The tall\nrushes growing there held the little cradle, that the water might not\nwash it away.\n\nThe mother turned and went quickly to her home. But do you think she\nleft the baby alone? Ah, no. Among the tall grasses near the river's\nbrim stood Miriam, the sister, patiently watching the queer cradle.\n\nWhile Miriam watched, the princess came to the river to bathe. The\nmaidens who had come to help her walked along the river's side.\n\nPresently the princess saw the queer little basket and sent one of her\nmaids to get it.\n\nWhen the princess opened the basket, the baby wakened and began to cry,\nand the princess felt very sorry for the little one.\n\nMiriam, who had watched so faithfully beside the river, now came to the\nprincess.\n\n\"Shall I go and find thee a woman who will take care of the child?\" she\nsaid. And the princess said, \"Go.\"\n\nWhat did Miriam do, do you think? She ran as fast as she could and\nbrought the baby's own mother.\n\nWhen the princess saw the mother she did not know that it was the baby's\nown mother, and she said to her: \"Take this child away and nurse it for\nme, and I will give thee thy wages.\"\n\nDo you not think that mother's heart was glad as she took her own baby\nhome? The baby could run and play now, and laugh and crow as much as it\nliked, for the great princess loved him, and no harm could come to him.\n\nThe mother called the baby's name \"Moses,\" she said, \"because I drew him\nout of the water,\" and in that far country that is what the name \"Moses\"\nmeans.\n\nBible [Adapted]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF DAVID\n\n\nLong, long ago, on the green hills of Bethlehem, a little shepherd boy\ntended his sheep.\n\nRuddy and strong was little David, for the sun gave him rosy cheeks, and\nthe bracing wind made him long to run races with his own shadow, just\nfrom pure happiness.\n\nMany a time he lay on the soft grass, gazing up at the blue sky, dotted\nwith fleecy white clouds--white as his own lambs. Many a time, as he led\nhis flock homeward at evening, he saw the sun sink in the gold and\ncrimson west, and, as the dusk deepened, the great round moon rise above\nthe hills, flooding the world with silvery light.\n\nWith all this beauty around him, do you wonder that he was good and\nhappy?\n\nOne day, while David was watching his sheep in the field, Samuel, the\nHigh Priest of the Lord, appeared before Jesse, David's father.\n\nOn a very wonderful errand had he come.\n\nHe told David's father that the Lord had chosen one of his sons to be\nthe new king of Israel, because Saul, the old king, was no longer fit to\nrule.\n\n\"Call all your sons before me,\" said Samuel, \"that I may anoint the\nLord's chosen one.\"\n\nOh, how proudly Jesse called his eldest son!\n\nTall, and straight, and strong, he stood there, looking every inch a\nking.\n\n\"Surely,\" thought Samuel, \"I have found him!\"\n\nBut the Lord looked down into his heart--just as he looks into our\nhearts today--and saw that all was not right there, and so the Lord said\nto Samuel: \"He is not the chosen one.\"\n\nThen Samuel asked Jesse to call his second son.\n\nBut when the Lord read his thoughts He said to the priest: \"No; I have\nnot chosen this one.\"\n\nJesse called his third son, but Samuel only shook his head. In haste,\nJesse called all his other sons before the High Priest, but Samuel was\nforced to say sadly, \"The Lord hath not chosen these.\" Almost in\ndespair, he turned to Jesse, asking: \"Are all thy children here?\" And he\nanswered: \"There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the\nsheep.\"\n\nJoyfully Samuel cried: \"Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down\ntill he come hither.\" And he sent and brought him in.\n\nWhen Samuel looked into his pure, innocent face, he knew that now the\nchosen one of the Lord stood before him.\n\nTaking his horn of oil, he anointed him King of Israel, \"and the spirit\nof the Lord came upon David from that day forward.\"\n\nWhen Samuel left him, David went quietly back to the field, and tended\nhis sheep, just as of old.\n\nDay by day he tried to do every duty well, so that bye and bye he would\nbe worthy to be a king.\n\nMeanwhile, up in his royal palace, King Saul was in deep trouble. In his\ndistress he longed to hear the beautiful music of the harp. He therefore\nsent for David, that he might play for him. When David came he paused\nbeside the throne, and Saul, looking up, saw before him a tall and\nhandsome youth, bearing a golden harp.\n\nBowing low, David begged permission to play for his King. Gladly Saul\nbade him begin.\n\nFirst, the young harpist struck a ringing chord that thrilled through\nthe vast hall.\n\nThen he began to play a low, sweet melody!\n\nIt sounded like the summer breeze sighing softly over a grassy meadow,\nand setting the dainty daisies and buttercups swaying on their stems.\nSuddenly the music swelled stronger, until it seemed like a flashing\nfountain, springing up in a burst of sparkling spray.\n\nThen the sweet tones slowly softened.\n\nFainter they grew--and yet fainter--like the music of a dream--till at\nlast they died away into silence.\n\nSpellbound sat King Saul when the player ceased.\n\nAnd David came to Saul and stood before him, and Saul loved him greatly,\nand he became his armor bearer.\n\nLong afterward David wore the crown of Israel.\n\nHe was a wise and good king, for the Heavenly Father, who blessed his\nyouth, watched over him all his days.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF JOSEPH\n\n\nMany years ago there lived a little lad named Joseph. He was comely, and\nhis face was beautiful, because his heart was pure and good.\n\nJoseph had many brothers, but because of his gentleness and comeliness\nthe old father loved him more than all the others. One time he gave\nJoseph a coat woven with many beautiful colors, as a token of his love\nfor his favorite son.\n\nNow, when the older brothers saw this they were angry and jealous, and\nfrom that time on they sought to do him harm.\n\nJacob, the father, owned many sheep, and the sons cared for them,\nsometimes leading them far from home to find the best pastures. Joseph\noften went with the brothers to tend the flocks, but he loved best to\ncare for the tender little lambs, leading them into the greenest\npastures and beside the quiet water.\n\nOne time the brothers were far from home with the flocks, and the\nfather, being anxious for them and longing to know how they fared, sent\nJoseph, the beloved son, with many provisions, to the place where his\nbrothers were. The lad started on his journey with a light and merry\nheart, for all the world looked bright to him. He wore the beautiful\ncoat of many colors, and the people often stopped to look at the lad,\nwith his comely face and beautiful coat.\n\nAs he approached the place where his brothers were they saw him when he\nwas yet some distance away, but the anger and jealousy arose in their\nhearts, and they said: \"Ah! Here comes the best beloved son. Let us do\naway with him. Then the love which our father gives to him may be\nbestowed upon us.\" So, as the lad drew nearer, they planned how they\nmight destroy him. But one, the oldest brother, loved Joseph, and tried\nto save him from the hands of his evil brothers. So when they said, \"Let\nus destroy him,\" Reuben, the eldest, said: \"Nay, but let us cast him\ninto a pit near by,\" thinking he would save him when the other brothers\nleft.\n\nSo when Joseph drew near they seized him, stripped him of his coat of\nmany colors, and cast him into a pit, and left him there alone.\n\nThen they said: \"Let us make a feast. See, our father hath sent us many\nthings.\" And they sat down and made a feast with the things which their\nbrother Joseph had brought to them.\n\nAs they were eating they looked up, and, coming down the roadway, they\nsaw a large company of merchantmen passing on their way to Egypt. Then\nan evil plan came to the mind of one brother, and he said: \"It is going\nto bring us no gain to keep Joseph in the pit. Let us sell him to those\nmen and gain money for ourselves.\" The brothers agreed, and Joseph, the\nbeloved son, was sold into Egypt for twenty pieces of silver.\n\nWhen the brothers went home they took the coat of many colors to the old\nfather, and said: \"Is not this thy son's coat which we found? An evil\nbeast hath surely destroyed him.\" And the old father wept for Joseph,\nhis son, and would not be comforted.\n\n\nPART II.\n\n\nThe great caravan moved toward Egypt, and there the boy was sold again\ninto the hands of a very rich man, in whose sight he found great favor,\nand who placed him in a position of honor in his own household. And\nJoseph grew in comeliness and beauty, for his heart was pure and the\nLord was his friend and helper, prospering him in all that he did. He\ngrew in favor with his master, who in turn made him ruler over all his\nhouse.\n\nBut Joseph had an enemy in the house, one who was jealous of his great\nhonor and position, and she tried in every way to do Joseph harm. One\nday she falsely told the master of the house that Joseph had done a very\nevil thing. The master, being exceedingly angry, and thinking Joseph had\nbetrayed his trust, stripped him of his fine garments and cast him into\nprison.\n\nBut the Lord was still with Joseph in his great trouble, so that he\nfound favor with the keeper of the prison, who treated him most kindly,\nand Joseph sought in many ways to relieve the suffering and sorrow of\nthose in the prison with him.\n\nOne day he helped two of the king's servants by telling them the meaning\nof two strange dreams they had, for dreams in those olden days were\noften sent to people by God to warn them, or prepare them for something\nwhich would happen, and God gave to Joseph the wisdom to understand the\nmeaning and interpretation of those dreams. Thus, when the two servants\nwere troubled because of their dreams, Joseph told them the meaning. One\nservant was released from the prison, and as he left, Joseph asked that\nhe might remember him when he came before the king, that he, too, might\nbe released. But the servant, when he was free, forgot the one who had\nhelped him when in trouble.\n\nTwo years passed away, and Joseph remained in prison, but he still\ntrusted in his God.\n\nOne night Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, was much troubled by his strange\ndreams. He called together all of his wise men and magicians, to know\nthe interpretation of them, but none could tell the meaning. The king's\ntrouble became known to his servants, and suddenly the one who had been\nin prison remembered Joseph, the man who had interpreted his own dream.\nHe quickly told the king, who ordered Joseph to be brought immediately\nbefore him.\n\nWhen Joseph stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, he humbly bowed his\nhead, and said: \"The wisdom is not mine, but God in heaven shall tell\nthee the interpretation of thy dreams.\" And Joseph spoke to the king as\nGod gave him wisdom, and told him the meaning of his dreams. And this\nwas the meaning:\n\nThere should be seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt, and after\nthat, seven years of famine throughout the land.\n\nThen Joseph said: \"Let Pharaoh, the king, choose a man, wise and\ndiscreet, who will sow and gather the harvest for the seven years of\nplenty, to fill the barns and storehouses with grain, so that when the\nseven years of famine come there will be grain enough and to spare in\nthe land of Egypt.\"\n\nAs Pharaoh, the king, looked upon Joseph and heard him speak, he loved\nhim, and said: \"In all Egypt there is no man so wise as thou. Gather the\nharvest, to fill the barns and storehouses, in the seven years of\nplenty. I will make thee ruler over all Egypt. Thou shalt dwell with me\nand all men shall obey thee.\"\n\nAnd Pharaoh took off the ring from his own hand and put it upon Joseph's\nhand, and dressed him in beautiful garments, and put a gold chain about\nhis neck. And Joseph rode in the chariot next to the king of Egypt, and\nas they rode through the streets all the people bowed before Joseph and\nknew him as their ruler, and loved him.\n\nThen Joseph went throughout all Egypt and commanded the people to build\ngreat storehouses and barns, and to gather in the corn and grain, and\nfill them full, against the seven years of famine which were to come.\nWhen the seven years of plenty were passed, and the famine was over all\nthe land, there was grain and to spare in all Egypt, because Joseph had\ngathered the storehouses full.\n\nWhen the people from other countries heard this they came to Egypt to\nbuy bread, and the king sent them to Joseph. And Joseph opened the great\nstorehouses, and sold grain to all who came. And the Lord was with\nJoseph and prospered him in all that he did.\n\n\nPART III.\n\n\nNow, Jacob, with his eleven sons, Joseph's brothers, still lived in the\nland of Canaan, and the famine was over all the land, so that there was\nno bread in the house to eat.\n\nThen Jacob, the father, called his sons to him and said: \"I have heard\nthat there is corn in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us, that we may\nlive and not die.\"\n\nSo Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain, and Joseph was ruler\nover all Egypt, and sold grain to all who came. His brothers came before\nhim and bowed their faces to the ground as they asked for food, for the\nfamine was sore in their land. Now, Joseph knew his brothers when he saw\nthem, but they knew not the little lad they had sold into the land of\nEgypt for twenty pieces of silver.\n\nJoseph did not make himself known to his brothers, but asked them about\ntheir country and their homes, if they had a father and other brothers;\nand when they spoke of the old father, Jacob, and the youngest brother,\nBenjamin, who had stayed with the old father, Joseph longed to tell them\nthat he was the brother whom the father had mourned as lost; but he\nwaited, and treated his brothers as strangers, for they knew him not.\nThen he sent them home with their sacks full of grain, and took no money\nfor it. But when they returned the second time to Egypt, Joseph's heart\nyearned for them, and for his old father and youngest brother. When they\nwere alone, he stood before his brothers, and, looking at them, said:\n\"Do you not know me? I am your brother, Joseph, the little lad whom you\nsold into Egypt.\"\n\nBut when his brothers heard this they were much afraid, and drew away\nfrom him, for they thought, now that he was ruler over all Egypt, he\nwould surely punish them for their evil treatment of him. But Joseph\nsaid: \"Come near me and do not be afraid, nor grieve that you sold me\ninto Egypt, for God has been with me and kept me, and made me ruler, so\nthat I have been able to save many people from the famine.\"\n\nThen the brothers drew near, and Joseph wept with them, for he loved\nthem. Then he said: \"Go back and bring my father, Jacob, and my youngest\nbrother, Benjamin, that we may live together once more.\"\n\nAnd Joseph went to meet his father in a chariot, and brought him before\nPharaoh, and the king was much pleased, for he loved Joseph and all his\nhousehold.\n\nThen Joseph gave to his father and brothers houses and lands, so that\nthey all lived together in peace in the land of Egypt.\n\nAnd the Lord was with Joseph and prospered him all the days of his life.\n\n\n\n\nTHE COURTESY OF THE SPARTAN BOY\n\n\nThere were, hundreds of years ago, two very large and grand cities,\nwhich strove to excel each other. The one city was Sparta, the other was\nAthens. These cities were not like our cities of today. They had\nbeautiful, broad streets, but no street cars. They had magnificent\nbuildings, but no electric lights. They did have schools, but they were\nunlike our schools. The boys in both Athens and Sparta were taken away\nto school when they were six years of age.\n\nIn Athens the boys were taught that they must become very strong and\nmanly. They had running, jumping, leaping, swimming, and racing\nexercises, to give them rigid muscles and strong, healthy bodies.\nOccasionally they were allowed to visit at their homes for a day or two.\nThe boys were also taught to sing and to read.\n\nThe Spartan boy was taught that he must become very strong and\nself-reliant. His schoolroom was very plain and bare. He was never\nallowed to go home to visit. He had to wear, in both summer and winter,\nthe same plain, loose clothing. He slept out of doors in the\nsummer-time, under the trees. In the wintertime he slept in a very open\nbuilding, on a bed of reeds and rushes, which he had to gather from the\nriver in the long, heated summer days for his winter bed. He had no\nbedclothing except the down which the wild ducks had shed, and which he\nhad gathered in the forests. He learned to read, write, and to sing. He\nlearned to run, to leap, to swim, and to throw the javelin.\n\nOne time the boys from both Athens and Sparta were to meet in a great\namphitheater to hear a very wise and learned old man speak. The boys had\nall gathered, and with them many other people. The amphitheater was\nfull. Not a vacant seat was left, and the people were patiently waiting\nfor the old man to appear. At last he came. He came in so quietly that\nhe was not noticed, except by two boys, one on each side of the aisle.\nOne was a Spartan boy and one was an Athenian. The Athenian boy and\nSpartan boy both rose immediately. The Athenian boy sat down, but the\nSpartan boy still stood. He insisted that the old man take his seat, but\nthe old man gently refused, and passed on up the aisle to the place from\nwhich he was to address the people. Then the Spartan boy sat down. The\nold man recognized this act of courtesy, and, while talking to the boys,\nsaid that the Athenian boy knew what to do, but did not do it. The\nSpartan boy had the courage to do it.\n\n\n\n\nTWENTY-THIRD PSALM.\n\n\n  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.\n\n  He maketh me to lie down in green\n   pastures: he leadeth me beside the\n   still waters.\n\n  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me\n   in paths of righteousness for his\n   name's sake.\n\n  Yea, though I walk through the valley\n   of the shadow of death, I will fear no\n   evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy\n   staff they comfort me.\n\n  Thou preparest a table before me in\n   the presence of mine enemies: thou\n   annointest my head with oil; my cup\n   runneth over.\n\n  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow\n   me all the days of my life: and I will\n   dwell in the house of the Lord forever.","title":"A Child's Story Garden","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":20945}