5. He ruled the north wind with its snow and ice, and the south wind with its flowers; the east wind, which brings rain for the plants, and the west wind, which blows the leaves from the trees.

6. King Æolus was glad to see Odysseus and to hear about his great deeds.

7. When Odysseus sailed away in his ship, the king gave him a queer present. It was a great bag tied with a silver string.

8. You could never guess what was in it, so I shall have to tell you. All the winds but one were shut up in this bag. That one was the east wind, which would take the ship home.

9. "Do not open the bag while you are on the ship," said the king. "If you do, the winds will rush out and drive you far away over the seas. It will be a long time before you reach your home."

II

10. You may be sure that Odysseus took great care of the bag. He told his men not to touch it.

11. The men would look at it and wonder what was in it. They thought it must hold a great treasure.

12. The east wind blew for nine days and nights. The ship dashed through the waves on its way home.

13. All this time Odysseus did not dare sleep, for fear something might happen to the ship. At last he grew so tired that he fell asleep.

14. Then one of the men said: "Let us peep into the bag and see what it holds. Odysseus will never know that we have looked."

The other men agreed, so they untied the silver string.

roar.

15. Whiz! Out rushed the winds with a They dashed great waves over the ship, and swept some of the bad sailors into the sea.

16. You know that one wind can do much harm. Think what a storm there was when all the winds at once blew as hard as they could!

17. Odysseus started to his feet. once what the men had done.

He saw at He could not

put the winds back into the bag. It was all he could do to keep the ship from being dashed to pieces.

18. The storm lasted many days. The winds blew the ship far away over the seas, and many years passed before Odysseus reached his home.

1. Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you;

But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

2. Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I;

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

1. Have you ever seen the sea on a calm

summer day?

Lading a ship

How beautiful it is! The blue water dances in the sunshine. It is pleasant to watch the boats with their white sails, and to see the great ships going to and fro.

2. Some of these ships sail over the sea to far-off lands. They take wheat, cotton, and other things to the people there. They bring back tea, cloth, and many The sea is like a great

other things for us.

road from one land to another.

3. But the great sea road is not always a pleasant one for sailors. There are days when the wind blows and the waves are high. Sometimes strong ships are dashed to pieces in a storm.