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The

and idle,

young were so gay With hearts so eager and light; And the grown-up people so busy,

Planning from morning till night; And all were thinking and speaking

Of things they had seen and heard; And all of themselves or each other, With never a thought for the biră.

Back flew the bird in its terror,
Back to the hovel again!
And 'tis asking all whom it passes,
And 'tis asking them all in vain ;
And near the hovel it met her,

The girl with the innocent grace, And the hand that was always ready, And the sweet little pitying face.

And it fluttered and flew about her,
And cried a despairing cry,

And flew away to the hovel,

And back to the girl did fly. And the girl looked up with wonder, But able to understand,

For the quick perceptive spirit

Still goes with the comforting hand.

So the two went into the hovel,

And life went in with them there; For death could not hold the creature Of whom a bird took such care.

And all who heard the sweet story
Did comfort and aid impart,
With work for the willing fingers

And love for the kindly heart.

From "CHILD NATURE."

THE WHALES' BALL.

DEEP, deep, down in the sea, miles and miles further down than you ever went, is the palace where Whale, the King of the Fish, lives. Such a beautiful cool palace, made of rock, and fitted up inside with coral !

Now in case no fish ever asked you to dine, or to drink salt water with him, I am going to tell you about the ball which King Whale gave when the Prince of the Whales came of age.

Whales usually live in great state, and do not care to see their neighbours; but the queen persuaded the king that solitude is no better for fish than for man or beast, and at last he gave in and said that he would give a ball. Then all was bustle in the You never saw such waves as were kicked up. The dust on the land is nothing to them. In fact, two or three ships were wrecked in consequence.

sea.

Salmon, the butler, said that he could not pretend to get through the waiting without more help. All the shells wanted cleaning, and several of them were chipped.

As soon as Salmon's wishes were known, a good

many fish swam after the place. Indeed the wages offered were so good that several Pikes left the fresh water and came into the sea to offer their services.

Next came a Crab; but although he was very handy with his claws, his way of walking was so awkward, the Whale said he was ashamed to see him. However, Salmon told him to come, but to remain in the backwater, where he would not be so much observed. Then hurried up two Eels, with slim genteel figures, and nicely oiled hair. They were very active, almost too much so, in fact; for Mrs. Lobster, the fat red cook, caught one helping himself to sea-weed on the sly. Still they looked so well in their livery, that Salmon engaged them.

At last the great day arrived. The Star-fish were all rubbed bright, and shone beautifully. Lobster got very hot with getting the Jelly-fish into their moulds. The Talking-fish stood ready to announce the visitors' names, and the Crab waited to take off the ladies' cloaks with his claws. First appeared the head and shoulders of General Cod, attended by the Master Smelts. The Smelts were rather grand fish, and very angry at their low relations, the Sprats, who rushed in after them, trying to look as if they belonged to the same party. Between ourselves, I do not think that they had been invited at all, but managed to slip by Salmon when he was not looking.

Next tripped up the Miss Whitings, nicely bread-crumbed, and with their tails held neatly in their mouths. Then two Yarmouth Bloaters strolled in—rather dry fellows, but highly respect

able. Then the real Turtle, and after him a mock one, who was, of course, turned away as an impostor.

Now the king loved to see children happy; so an orphan school of very small fish, Shrimps, were marched in two and two, headed by a stout Prawn, their master. These little creatures sat in a gallery where they could see all that went on, and behaved in a very nice and orderly manner. I forgot to say that they were really sandy-brown fish: but getting into warm water, they gave one kick, when the Prawn gave the word, and put on their pink dress, without which they could not have appeared at table.

The only thing that went wrong was that not even Turbot, the beadle, could keep the sea clear of Cockles and Winkles, who kept on staring in a very rude way at the great people, and were spiteful enough to throw sand at the little Shrimps as they marched past.

Old Miss Oyster, who was nervous and timid, was so alarmed by the conduct of the Cockles that she closed her carriage door so tightly that at first it could not be opened; and when it was, she had fainted, and a great deal of vinegar had to be given her before she at all recovered.

At last the dance began. Fish dance very slowly, and very often stop to take a little sea-weed. Here again the Cockles and Winkles were most troublesome, climbing up the windows and staring in. Then the queen, thinking that the dance had lasted long enough, told the company that they should see a show.

There is no Punch and Judy under the sea, but a couple of Flying-fish had been hired, who went head over heels until the Sprats cheered and yelled, and even the Smelts forgot their grandeur, and clapped their little fins.

In about an hour supper was announced.

It was a beautiful sight! The table was covered with sea-weed and Jelly-fish; the Star-fish shone more than gas, which of course cannot be used in the sea, as it would go out. (There has been a talk in fish newspapers lately of burning cod-liver oil, but the smell is an objection.)

Minnows and Tadpoles stood waiting behind each chair. After supper the Talking-fish made all the speeches; and then a band of Prawns, conducted by a Gold-fish, stood up, and all the company joined in singing

"The whale, the whale, we now will sing;

The ocean's pride, and the fishes' king!"

and, with all good wishes to the Prince of the Whales, the happy company swam away.

From "GooD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG."

THE HISTORY OF SOME CHILDREN WHO WERE THEIR OWN MASTERS.

CHAPTER I.

Charles. Oh papa! how I wish I was as tall as you!

Mr. Williams. Why do you want that, my boy? Charles. Because no one could order me about

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