NEW FOURTH READER. STORIES FROM THE BEST AUTHORS. 1. A BOY'S PETS. This story from "A Boys' Town" was written by Mr. W. D. Howells, who is thought by many to be the best American storywriter now living. Mr. Howells's stories, describing every class of people, are so true to life that it has been said if all other histories and stories of the present time were lost, readers by and by could, by reading his books, imagine the men and women and customs that we see nowadays. "A Boys' Town" is said to be a true history of the village where Mr. Howells spent his childhood. It will give you pictures of life when your fathers were young. "The Rise of Silas Lapham," "A Modern Instance," "A Hazard of New Fortunes," are the titles of some of this writer's books. In our town, when a boy had a coon he had to have a box turned open side down to keep it in, and he had to have a little door in the box to pull the coon out through whenever he wanted to show it to other boys or look at it himself, which was forty or fifty times a day when he first got it. He had to have a collar for the coon, and a chain, because a coon would gnaw through a string in a minute. The coon liked to stay inside his box, where he had a bed of hay, and whenever the boy pulled him out, he did his best to bite the boy. He knew no tricks; his temper was bad; he would n't even let a fellow see him eat, and there was nothing about him, except the rings round his tail, that anybody would care for. My boy's brother had a coon that got away two or three times. He usually ran up the tall locust tree in NEW FOURTH READER. STORIES FROM THE BEST AUTHORS. 1. A BOY'S PETS. This story from "A Boys' Town" was written by Mr. W. D. Howells, who is thought by many to be the best American storywriter now living. Mr. Howells's stories, describing every class of people, are so true to life that it has been said if all other histories and stories of the present time were lost, readers by and by could, by reading his books, imagine the men and women and customs that we see nowadays. "A Boys' Town" is said to be a true history of the village where Mr. Howells spent his childhood. It will give you pictures of life when your fathers were young. "The Rise of Silas Lapham," "A Modern Instance," "A Hazard of New Fortunes," are the titles of some of this writer's books. In our town, when a boy had a coon he had to have a box turned open side down to keep it in, and he had to have a little door in the box to pull the coon out through whenever he wanted to show it to other boys. or look at it himself, which was forty or fifty times a day when he first got it. He had to have a collar for the coon, and a chain, because a coon would gnaw through a string in a minute. The coon liked to stay inside his box, where he had a bed of hay, and whenever the boy pulled him out, he did his best to bite the boy. He knew no tricks; his temper was bad; he would n't even let a fellow see him eat, and there was nothing about him, except the rings. round his tail, that anybody would care for. My boy's brother had a coon that got away two or three times. He usually ran up the tall locust tree in front of the house, and in a few minutes all the boys of the town would be there telling his owner how to get him down. Of course the only way was to climb for the coon, which would be out at the point of a high and slender limb, and would bite you awfully, even if the limb did n't break under you; while the boys kept yelling to you what to do, and the dog just howled with excite ment. The last time the coon got away he was discovered by moonlight in the locust tree. His owner climbed for him, but the coon kept going higher and higher, and at last he had to be left till morning. In the morning he was not there, or anywhere. There was a time when a goat came into this boy's family. Nobody who has not kept a goat can have any notion of how many kinds of mischief a goat can get into without seeming to try. This one went up and down stairs from cellar to garret, and in and out of all the rooms like anybody. In the chambers it chewed the sheets and pillow-cases on the beds, and in the dining-room it would do its best to eat the table-cloth. Wash-day was a feast for it, for then it would banquet on the shirt-sleeves and stockings that dangled from the clothes-line. I don't know why the boys were fond of that goat, for it never showed them the least affection, and was always trying to butt them over when it got a chance. It would try to butt them into the well when they leaned down to pull up a bucket. If it saw a boy cracking nuts in the back yard it would fly at him and send him spinning head over heels. Once when the mother of the boy had a number of ladies to tea, the goat went into the hall where the bonnets were laid, and began to make a supper on the ribbons. It was discovered at its stolen joys and chased into the back yard, carrying a bonnet with it. The boy managed to run it down, and draw the ribbon from its throat. Then he took the bonnet and laid it carefully on the table again, and decided that it would be best not to say anything about the affair. But such a thing as that could not be kept. The goat was known to have done the mischief and was sent away, and the children had to console themselves with the pets that were left. W. D. Howells. Whom does the writer mean by "my boy"? Spell owner; howled; discovered; mischief; bonnets; banquet. 2. THE WIND. Articulation.-toss; song; heard you; different; birds | about; kites on | high. I saw you toss the kites on high And blow the birds about the sky; I saw the different things you did, - O wind, a-blowing all day long! O you that are so strong and cold, - R. L. Stevenson. |