Turn in the little seed, brown and dry,
Turn out the golden millet.

Work, and your house shall be duly fed;
Work, and rest shall be won;

I hold that a man had better be dead
Than alive, when his work is done!

Down and up, and up and down,

On the hill-top, low in the valley; Turn in the little seed, dry and brown, Turn out the rose and lily.

Work, with a plan, or without a plan,

And your ends shall be shaped true; Work, and learn at first-hand, like a man The best way to know is to do!

Down and up till life shall close,

Ceasing not your praises;

Turn in the wild, white winter snows,

Turn out the sweet spring daisies.
Work, and the sun your work will share,
And the rain in its time will fall;
For Nature, she worketh everywhere,
And the grace of God through all.

- Selected.

HOW THE WIND BLOWS!

[IGH and low

HIGH

The spring winds blow!

They take the kites that the boys have made,

C

And carry them off high into the air;

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.

- Selected.

SPR

MERRY RAIN.

PRINKLE, sprinkle, comes the rain,
Tapping on the window-pane!

Trickling, coursing,

Crowding, forcing,

Tiny rills

To the dripping window-sills.

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.

PATTE

APRIL SHOWER.

ATTER, 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.

- Selected.

WHO LIKES THE RAIN?

"I" 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.

"STOP, stop, pretty water!"

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.