Englisches Lesebuch

49.

As I went through the garden gap,
Who should I meet but Dick Red-cap!

A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,

If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat.

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51. THE VOYAGE IN THE ARM-CHAIR.
HAIR.

PAPA! dear Papa! we've had such a fine game!
We played at a sail on the sea:

The old arm-chair made such a beautiful ship,
And it sailed-oh, as nice as could be!

We made Mary the captain, and Bob was the boy
Who cried, "Ease her!" "Back her!" and, "Slow!"
And Jem was the steersman who stands at the wheel,
And I watched the engines below.

We had for a passenger Grandmamma's cat,

And as Tom could not pay, he went free;
From the fire-side we sailed at half past two o'clock,
And we got to the sideboard at three.

But oh, only think, dear Papa, when half way,

Tom overboard jumped to the floor!

And though we called, "Tom! come back! don't be drowned!"
He galloped right out at the door.

But Papa, dear Papa! listen one moment more,

Till I tell you the end of our sail:

From the sideboard we went at five minutes past three,

And at four o'clock saw such a whale!

The whale was the sofa, and it, dear Papa,

Is at least twice as large as our ship!

The captain called out, "Turn the ship round about!
Oh, I wish I had not come this trip!"

And we all cried, "O yes! let us get away home,
And hide in some corner quite snug;"

So we sailed for the fire-side as quick as we could,

And we landed all safe on the rug.

52.

I ONCE had a sweet little doll, dears,

The prettiest doll in the world;

Her cheeks were so red and so white, dears,
And her hair was so charmingly curled.

But I lost my poor little doll, dears,

As I played in the heath one day;

And I cried for her more than a week, dears,
But I never could find where she lay.

I found my poor little doll, dears,

As I played in the heath one day:

Folks say she is terribly changed, dears,

For her paint is all washed away,

And her arm trodden off by the cows, dears,
And her hair not the least bit curled:
Yet, for old sakes' sake she is still, dears,

The prettiest doll in the world.

CHARLES KINGSLEY.

53.

OUR nursery is a very nice place. It has a large window where we hang up our canary Peter in his wire cage, and where Mary and I keep our dolls' house, and Jack comes to 30 visit us. Sometimes Jack won't play; he says girls are stupid,

and he will go and see his pony. There are flowers in pots outside the window, and Nurse lets us water them.

We keep our skip

ping ropes and hoops

5 and Jack's ninepins in the black cupboard in'