dirty (der'ty) kettleful (ket'tl ful) lazily (lā'zi ly) HELPS TO STUDY 1. Tell what each of the two daughters was like. 2. How did the mother treat each? 3. Of course stepmothers are often wise and kind; but in this and other fairy stories they are often bad and foolish. 4. How did the good girl happen to go into the spring? 5. Where did she find herself? 6. With what three adventures did she meet? 7. Who, or what, is Mother Frost? 8. What are the feathers from her bed, when they fall to earth? 9. What did the little girl do there? 10. How was she rewarded? 11. What did the stepmother compel the other girl to do? 12. How did she get her finger bloody? 13. What happened to her on the way to Mother Frost's? 14. How did she do her work there? 15. How was she paid? 16. You see that this story is in two parts. Can you think of a name for the first part? For the second part? 17. You see, too, that the story tries to teach something; what is it? 18. A spring is here the place through which these girls enter fairyland. What other things have you read of, or thought of, as a gate to airyland? 19. This story would make a good play. How many scenes may there be? What people are to be in each scene? What will they say? 5 THANKSGIVING DAY Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday. Do you know what that means? The people in New England, where this poem was written, have always made a great deal of this holiday. Over the river and through the wood, To carry the sleigh Through the white and drifted snow. Over the river and through the wood Oh, how the wind does blow! It stings the toes And bites the nose, As over the ground we go. Over the river and through the wood, Hear the bells ring, 5 10 15 Over the river and through the wood, Spring over the ground, Like a hunting hound! For this is Thanksgiving Day. Over the river and through the wood, Extremely slow,— It is so hard to wait! Over the river and through the wood,- 1. When does Thanksgiving Day come? 2. This is an American holiday only. Your teacher can tell you how we came to have it. The President and the governors of the various states always issue a notice to the people to observe this day of thanks. Such a notice is called. a proclamation. 3. Where do you spend this day? How? 4. How are the children in this poem going to spend it? TOM TIT TOT Among people of the older world long, long ago, it was believed that if you knew a person's name it gave you a sort of magic power over him. We shall see how that idea comes out in this old story. I Once upon a time a woman was baking five pies. She left them in the oven so long that the crust was burnt hard. So she called to her daughter and bade her put the pies on a shelf 5 until they had softened. One day when the girl went to see how the pies were getting on, they looked so good that she took a bite of one. Soon she had eaten all the pies on the shelf. When supper time came, her mother told her to fetch 10 one of the pies for them to eat. "They are still hard," said the girl. "Are all of them hard?" asked her mother. 66 Yes, all of them," replied the girl. "Well, I must have a pie for supper, no matter 15 how hard it is," said the mother. Then the daughter had to tell her what had happened. |