They snatch the little girls' hats away,
And toss and tangle their flowing hair.

High and low

The summer winds blow!

They dance and play with the garden flowers,
And bend the grasses and yellow grain;
They rock the bird in her hanging nest,
And dash the rain on the window-pane.

High and low

The autumn winds blow!

They frighten the bees and blossoms away,
And whirl the dry leaves over the ground;
They shake the branches of all the trees,
And scatter ripe nuts and apples around.
High and low

The winter winds blow!

They fill the hollows with drifts of snow,
And sweep on the hills a pathway clear;
They hurry the children along to school,

And whistle a song for the happy New Year.

Laughing rain-drops, light and swift,
Through the air they fall and sift;
Dancing, tripping,

Bounding, skipping,

Through the street,

With their thousand merry feet.

Every blade of grass around
Is a ladder to the ground;
Clinging, striding,
Slipping, sliding,

On they come

With their busy, patt'ring hum.

In the woods, by twig and spray,
To the roots they find their way;
Rushing, creeping,

Doubling, leaping,

Down they go

To the waiting life below.

O the brisk and merry rain,
Bringing gladness in its train!
Falling, glancing,

Tinkling, dancing,

All around

Listen to its cheery sound!

Selected

PATT

APRIL SHOWER.

TTER, patter, let it pour,
Patter, patter, let it roar;
Down the steep roof let it rush,
Down the hillside let it gush;
'Tis the welcome April shower,
Which will wake the sweet Mayflower.

Patter, patter, let it pour,

Patter, patter, let it roar;

Let the vivid lightning flash,

Let the headlong thunder dash,

'Tis the welcome April shower,

Which will wake the sweet Mayflower.

Patter, patter, let it pour,

Patter, patter, let it roar;

Soon the clouds will burst away,
Soon will shine the bright spring day,
Soon the welcome April shower
Will awake the sweet Mayflower.

- Selectea

*

“I

།

WHO LIKES THE RAIN?

" SAID the duck, "I call it fun,

For I have my little red rubbers on; They make a cunning three-toed track In the soft, cool mud. Quack! Quack! Quack!"

"I," cried the dandelion, "I,

My roots are thirsty, my buds are dry;"
And she lifted a towsled yellow head
Out of her green and grassy bed.

"I hope 'twill pour! I hope 'twill pour!"
Purred the tree-toad at his gray back door,
"For, with a broad leaf for a roof,
I am perfectly weather proof."

Sang the brook: "I laugh at every drop,
And wish they never need to stop
Till a big, big river I grew to be,
And could find my way out to the sea."

"I," shouted Ted, "for I can run,

With my high-top boots and my rain-coat on,
Through every puddle and runlet and pool
That I find on my way to school."

- Clara Doty Bates.

STOP, STOP, PRETTY WATER.

TOP, stop, pretty water!"

"STOP

Said Mary one day,

To a frolicsome brook

That was running away.

"You run on so fast!
I wish you would stay:
My boat and my flowers
You will carry away.

'' But I will run after;

Mother says that I may;

For I would know where
You are running away."

So Mary ran on;
But I have heard say,

That she never could find

- Mrs. Follen.

Where the brook ran away.

H'

THE VOICE OF THE GRASS.

ERE I come creeping, creeping everywhere ;

By the dusty roadside,

On the sunny hillside,

Close by the noisy brook,

In every shady nook,

I come creeping, creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;
All around the open door,
Where sit the aged poor,

Here where the children play,

In the bright, merry May,

I come creeping, creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;
In the noisy city street,

My pleasant face you'll meet
Cheering the sick at heart,

Toiling his busy part,

Silently creeping, creeping everywhere.