STORIES:

The Snow-Flakes.

"Hurrah! We are going down to the earth," said a tiny snow-flake up in its cloud home to its brothers. "I heard King Frost and the north wind say last night that, if the east wind would come and help them, they would make some more snow-flakes, and send us all down to the earth."

Oh, what fun!" cried the rest; "won't we have a fine race down! I wish the east wind would hurry and bring up his clouds."

"Here he comes now!" cried a little flake. And sure enough, far out over the ocean came the cast wind, driving the clouds filled with tiny water-drops before him.

Instantly the water-drops in the clouds were changed into beautiful little feathery snowflakes, which leaped joyously from their cloud home and began their journey to the earth.

Faster and faster they came forth, chasing each other merrily along, and laughing gaily as the strong winds caught them and whirled them about.

"You can't catch me!" cried one.

"Don't be too sure of that," cried another. "I'll be there first!" called out a third. "Not if I get there before you," laughed a fourth, rushing along so quickly that he was out of sight in an instant.

What fun it was, to be sure, and, when they finally reached the ground, how they rolled over and over each other, and flew here and there among the dead leaves and the bushes, till at last they were quite tired out and settled down to rest for a while!

They had been quiet but a few minutes, however, when they heard a shout, and down the road came the schoolboys.

"Now for the fun!" joyfully cried the little snow-flakes. "Here come the boys to play with us!"

the little flakes clung closely together and did their very best to make the balls quickly.

Then how they laughed and how the boys laughed and shouted as they flew through the air.

"We won't hit hard, though," said the snowflakes, "for we don't want to hurt any one.” The kind little snow-flakes!

After a short game of snowballing, the boys grew tired of this sport, and ran off to their homes to get their sleds.

So the little snow-flakes had a chance to

rest and watch their brothers, who were hurrying down from their cloud home to join them on the earth.

"You are too late for the fun," they said to the newcomers; we have just had a fine game of snowball with the boys."

"Oh, we shall have sport enough," they answered, "before we go off.”

୧୧

Just then, hearing footsteps, they looked up and saw coming down the road a boy somewhat larger than those who had been playing with them, and who was reading as he walked slowly along.

"I would'nt give much for that boy," said the snow-flakes; "he isn't going to take any notice of us."

But when he came a little nearer to them, they heard him say this: "Without the sun there would be no vapor in the air; without the vapor there would be no clouds; and without the clouds there would be no snow; so really the sun makes the snow.' That's queer, now," he added, stopping his reading and looking down at the snow at his feet. "I never knew that before."

"Well," said a snow-flake, looking up saucily "don't you suppose there are a great many other things you don't know?"

The boy stooped down without taking any notice of what the snow-flake said, and, taking up some of the snow in his hand, he went on: "How soft and white you are, you snow-flakes. I wish I had a magnifying glass; then I could see your beautiful forms."

star, and my brother here has the form of a

And so, when the boys took up the snow,

dots."

The boy didn't seem to hear the snow-flakes,

or perhaps he heard them, but didn't understand snow language; so he made no reply to the speech of the little flake, but went on talking as if he had not spoken.

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Well," he said, "if the sun makes the snow for us, he takes it away from us again. I should like to know why it is that we cannot see the vapor when the sun is drawing it up through the air."

"You do see it sometimes, you know," answered a flake, "and you call it fog. Generally you cannot see it, because the particles of water, which make vapor, are so very, very small; so small that it takes many millions of them to make a drop of rain.”

"And this vapor is rising all the time, too," the boy continued, "from the ocean, from ponds and rivers, from the ground, from plants and trees, from animals, from almost everything on the earth, and yet we know nothing about it till we see it over our heads in clouds. It is very wonderful."

"Yes, it is wonderful," replied the snowflakes; "and there are many other wonderful things happening, which you will learn about when you are older."

As the snow-flake finished speaking, the boy walked away, and the little flake never saw him again.-Short Stories, Ginn & Co.

(By permission.)

The Seed-Babies' Blanket

"Dear me !" said Mother Nature, as she tucked the last of her seed-babies in bed, and spread over them a blanket of leaves, "King Winter will soon be here, and I fear this covering is not enough to keep my babies from his icy grasp. I must get them another blanket. What shall it be? Let me see. It should be something soft and light. And for babies, of course, it must be white."

So she went to Mr. North Wind and said, "Oh, Mr. North Wind, please bring to me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed-babies."

But Mr. North Wind said, "I cannot, unless Jack Frost will give me some of his silvery powder."

So Mother Nature called to Jack Frost, "Oh, Jack Frost, please give Mr. North Wind some of your silvery powder, that he may make for me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed-babies."

But Jack Frost said, "You must ask the Clouds to give me some vapor, then."

So Mother Nature called to the clouds and said, "Oh, kind Clouds, please give Jack Frost some of your vapor, that he may change it into silvery powder, and give it to Mr. North Wind, that he may make for me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright, To cover my little seed-babies."

Ring!

Ring Ring! Ring!

A welcome to the bright New Year!
Life, Hope, Joy,

On his radiant brow appear!

Hearts with love are thrilling,
Homes with bounty filling.
Ho! ye wardens of the bells,
Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ring for winter's bracing hours,
Ring for birth of spring and flowers,
Ring for summer's fruitful treasure,
Ring for autumn's boundless measure,
Ring for hands of generous giving,
Ring for vows of nobler living,
Ring for truths of tongue or pen,

Ring, "Peace on earth, good will toward men."
Ring Ring! Ring!

Ring, that this glad year may see
Earth's accomplished jubilee !

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"A New Year's Chime

Dance of the Months

The New Year comes in with shout and laughter,
And see, twelve months are following after !
First January all in white,

And February short and bright;

See breezy March go tearing round;
But tearful April makes no sound.

May brings a pole with flowers crowned,
And June strews roses on the ground.
A pop! A bang! July comes in;
Says August," What a dreadful din !
September brings her golden sheaves;
October waves her pretty leaves,
While pale November waits to see
December bring the Christmas tree.
They join their hands to make a ring,
And as they dance they merrily sing,
"Twelve months we are, you see us here,
We make the circle of the year.
We dance and sing, and children hear,
We wish you all a glad New Year!"

Practising

Ten little troublesome fingers,
Ten little finger nails -

Pattering on the piano

Scattering over the scales,

Clicking and clacking and clattering, Each in the other one's way

What trying and sighing and crying, To teach little children to play!

To play? I call it working,

When ten little fingers like mine

Selected

Are bumping and clumping and thumping, And never will fall into line

They fumble and tumble and stumble,

Do you think that mamma's pretty fingers,
That sparkle and dance on the keys,
While the music is rippling below them,
Were ever as clumsy as these?

I would work I would patiently practise,
How patiently! day after day,

If I thought that my practise and patience, Would end in such beautiful play.

Eliza Chester in St. Nicholas

4 Nod heads.

5 Bend over; rocking motion with both hands; sing sleepily.

6 Sing last three stanzas joyously.

7 Fluttering motion with both hands.

8 Look up; both hands raised, palms upward.

9 Step forward on right foot; hold out hands; smile.

*This music can be found as follows: "Blue Bells of Scotland," page 102, Franklin Square Song Collection, No. 1. Harper and Brothers, New York City); also page 55. "The School Singer," (Ginn & Co., Boston; also, "The Song Century," page 27 (C. W. Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y.)

"Well begun " may be "half done,"
But beginning is not ending;
Great successes ne'er are won

By only wishing and intending. "Start" is good, bur "stay " is better; "Start and stick" is sure prize-getter! "Staying powers" take foremost place. Sel.