sown keep useful presently Little Goody Two-shoes. I AM going to tell you a story of a very good and use ful little girl, named Margery Meanwell. But as she was better known by the name of Goody Two-shoes, I shall call her by that name. I will tell you directly how it was that little Margery Meanwell came to be called by such a funny name. Farmer Meanwell, the father of little Margery and of her brother Tommy, was for many years a rich man. He had a large farm, and good wheat fields, and flocks of sheep, and plenty of money. But his good fortune for sook him, and he became poor. He had to get people to lend him money to pay the rent of his house, and the wages of the servants who worked on his farm. Things went on worse and worse with the poor farmer. When the time came at which he should pay back the money lent him, he was not able to do so. He was soon obliged to sell his farm; but this did not bring him money enough, so he found himself in a worse plight than ever. He went into another village, and took his wife and two little children with him. But though he was thus safe from Gripe and Grasp All, the trouble and care he had to bear were too much for the ruined man. He fell ill, and worried himself so much about his wife and children, that he grew worse and worse, and died in a few days. His wife could not bear the loss of her husband whom she loved very much She fell sick too, and in three days she was dead. orphans hedges homeless scraps charity clergymen charitable managed MARGERY AND TOMMY ALONE. So Margery and Tommy were left alone in the world, without either father or mother to love them or take care of them. The parents were laid in one grave; and now there seemed to be no one but the Father of orphans, who dwells beyond the sky, to pity and take care of the home less children. But though you would have pitied their sorrow, it would have done your heart good to have seen how fond these two little ones were of each other, and how, handin-hand, they toddled about. The poorer they became the more they seemed to love one another. Poor enough they were, and ragged and forlorn. Tommy, indeed, had two shoes, but Margery had but one. They wandered about house less and hungry. They had nothing to eat or drink but the berries they picked from the hedges, or the scraps they got from the poor people. When night came they crept into a barn to sleep. Now Mr. Smith, the clergyman of the village in which the children were born, was a kind, good man. He was not rich himself, and could not give them money. So he made a plan to help poor Farmer Meanwell's orphans; and this is how he managed to help them : The clergyman had a friend staying with him-a kind, charitable man. Mr. Smith told this friend all about Tommy and Margery, and the kind gentle man pitied the children, and sent for them to come and see him. He ordered little Margery a new pair of shoes, and gave Mr. Smith some money to buy her clothes, which indeed she wanted sadly. As for Tommy, he said he would make him a little sailor, and to begin with, he had a jacket and trowsers made for him. After some days the gentle man said he had to go to London, and would take Tommy with him. So he and Margery must say "Good-bye" to each other. The parting between the two children was a very sad one. Tommy cried, and Margery cried, and they kissed each other over and over again. At last Tommy wiped off the tears, and bade her cry no more, for he would come back to her by and by. Poor Margery was very sorry indeed to lose her brother; and when night came she was so sad that she went crying to bed. The next day little Margery was still mourning for her brother, and going crying through the village as if in search of him. But just then, the shoe maker came with the new shoes the kind gentleman had ordered to be made for her. Nothing could have kept up the spirits of little Margery but the pleasure she took in her new shoes. She ran out to Mrs. Smith as soon as they were put on, and smoothing down her frock, cried out, "Two shoes, ma'am, two shoes!" These words. she said to all the people she met; and thus it was she got the name of "Goody Two-shoes," or "Little Goody Two-shoes," or, as some of her play'mates called her, "Goody Two-shoes." child children learn reading LITTLE MARGERY LEARNS TO READ AND SPELL. Now little Margery wanted above all things to learn to read. So she would stop the children as they came home from school, and borrow their books to learn from. While the village children played at ball, and puss in the corner, little Two-shoes sat like a little puss in a corner, with a book reading. By this means she soon learnt reading. But she wished others to learn too, so she laid down a plan for teaching them. She found that only twenty-six letters were needed to spell all the words she could think of, but as some of these letters were large and some small, she cut out from thin pieces of wood ten sets of each. 66 She next got an old spelling book, and made the children set up all the words they wanted to spell, and then she taught them to read. "Come to me.' "I see you. "" "You are a good boy," and so on. The usual way of spelling, or carrying on the game, was this Suppose the word to be spelt was PlumPudding" (and I am sure that is a very good word), the children were placed in a circle round Goody Twoshoes. Then the first brought the first letter in PlumPudding, namely P, the next L, the next U, the next M, and so on till the whole word was spelt. MARGERY BECOMES THE SCHOOLMISTRESS. By and by Margery Meanwell became the schoolmistress, and a capital one she was. All her little scholars loved her; for she was never weary of laying plans for their good and pleasure. The room in which she taught was large and lofty, with plenty of fresh air in it. Next, as she knew that children should always be moving about, she placed her letters around the school. In this way every one had to get up to fetch a letter or to spell a word when it came to their turn. And this not only kept the scholars active but fixed the letters firmly in their mind. Some time after this, a poor lamb had lost its dam, and the farmer being about to kill it, she bought it of him, and brought it home with her to play with the childen. Again, a present was made to Miss Margery of a little dog. He was always in good temper, as little children ought to be; and always jumping about, as they like to be; so they called him "Jumper." It was Jumper's duty to keep the door, and he stood there boldly. He would let nobody go out, or anyone come in, without leave from his mistress. Billy, the pet lamb, became a cheerful fellow too, and all the children were fond of him. And Mistress Twoshoes let the best behaved have Will home with them at night. He would carry a satchel or bag of books on his back, and bring it back to school in the morning. A happy school was Miss Margery's, was it not?* The Mountain and the Squirrel. The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel, And the former called the latter 'Little Pig;' "You are doubtless very big, But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together; And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I'm neither broad nor high, You are not so small as I, And not half so spry; If I cannot carry forests on my back, Then, pray observe my nimble foot! Goldsmith (?). |