they are a great, great help, and are often called ‘Those dear little
Grosbeak birds!’”
JUNE 26: The Goldfishes
“I am pretty mad,” said one of the goldfishes in the bowl, whose name was
Mr. Tokio Jones.
“I’m mad, too,” said Mr. Pekin Baxter, the other goldfish.
“That little girl said, you remember,” continued Mr. Pekin Baxter, “‘Oh,
look at the wings on the fishes.’ Such ignorance! Of course, she meant
fins, but it made me pretty mad to think there was a person who knew so
little about fishes.”
“And what made me mad was when her playmate said to her: ‘Why, Marion,
those aren’t wings, those are fins,’ and Marion said: ‘Well, what is the
difference which I say, wings or fins?’
“That certainly made me mad.”
“It did me,” said Mr. Tokio Jones, “but let’s not excite ourselves any
more; let’s be like the lazy snails, who are really sensible not to get
angry, for it does no good at all.”
JUNE 27: The Pigeons’ Bath
“Now the four pigeons I want to tell you about were a daddy and mother
pigeon, and their little pigeon children whose names were Peter Pigeon
and Polly Pigeon,” said daddy. “And I saw them to-day.
“‘Polly,’ said her mother, ‘be sure you wet your feathers. Now a good
shake! There, that’s the way!’ And then the mother pigeon would give
herself a good shaking in the water to explain.
“And Daddy Pigeon was saying to Peter, ‘There, Peter! That’s the way.
Don’t be afraid of the water. A bath will do you good. And the day is
warm, the sun is shining, and we’ll get good and warm after this. Our
feathers will be warm in no time!’
“Now, Peter and Polly Pigeon were being told just how to bathe in the
best way by their fond parents. But it was not hard for them to learn.
They had lots of fun spattering each other, and they played all sorts of
games. And after they were really through bathing and had shaken their
feathers they began to get dry in the hot sun.
“Polly and Peter Pigeon were quite sleepy, after their playing, bathing,
splashing and spattering, and they began to coo very softly before going
to sleep. But as they were just dozing off Mother Pigeon said:
“‘If we’re all good pigeons, the Fairy Queen, who looks after pigeons,
too, will come and whisper in the ears of children to give us bread
crumbs. She will tell them that in the hot days of summer we like little
cooling drinks which they can put in pans and saucers around their yards
and on their porches. Yes, the Fairy Queen will tell them all that, if
we’re good pigeons.’
“Of course Polly and Peter made up their minds they would be very good
indeed so as to receive the rewards about which the Fairy Queen would
whisper to the children. And in case she hasn’t already told you I want
to let you know that it will make her happy to think of children all over
the world, when the warm weather comes, thinking of the little creatures
who can’t turn on the faucet and get a good cool drink of water, but who
must wait for the rain or kind people.”
JUNE 28: The Man in the Moon’s Party
“It had been the first hot day. Even the sun felt tired. That may sound
very strange, to think of the sun feeling tired,” said daddy. “But still
can’t you imagine that on the first hot day that comes, when the sun has
been shining with all his might and main he gets a little bit tired and
is glad when it is time to go to bed? Many strong people may get tired at
night.
“As the sun went to bed, the moon began to peep up and laugh. He grinned
from ear to ear, for he said to himself:
“‘To-night I really will be appreciated, for the sun has overworked
to-day and no one ever gets any thanks for overworking. It is as bad as
not working enough.’
[Illustration: “THE FAIRY QUEEN WAS DRESSED IN GLITTERING GOLD.”—_Page
155_]
“Of course, the moon was the very sort to talk that way. For, can you
imagine that jolly old man whom you see grinning at you so often as ever
really working very hard?
“Just then the moon began sending out his invitations for a party.
“He sent them in this way: he whispered to the tall pines that he wanted
to have a party and to invite all the little fairies. Also he added that
they must wear their very best clothes, for when he gave a party he liked
to see folks in their party clothes.
“The fairy queen was dressed in glittering gold. She wore a gold crown on
her head and carried a gold wand with gold stars glittering from it.
“All the other fairies were dressed in silvery costumes, for the man in
the moon is very fond of silver. You will sometimes notice that he puts
on a silver robe himself, and he is very friendly with the silver clouds
that float in the sky at night.
“They did have the very best time, and they all enjoyed the party so, so
much. The man in the moon laughed his head off—at least the fairies were
afraid he would—as he said he had never before seen the pine trees behave
so like silly little trees, instead of like big, dignified trees they had
always prided themselves on being.
“But the pine trees didn’t care, for they were having a beautiful time
waving and singing. They sang for lots of the lovely dances the fairies
did. As for the fairies, they felt it was a very great honor for them
to be given a party by the wonderful old man in the moon, who had such
splendid guests as the pine trees!”
JUNE 29: Billy and the Dragon
“Billy was very, very fat, and, oh, so lazy! The reason he was so fat was
because he ate everything he wanted. He used to spend every penny he ever
got all on himself, and he always bought candy.
“When supper time came he really made himself very sick over jam, for
he always persisted in eating loads and loads of jam and would not even
spread it on his toast, but would eat it plain out of a spoon.
“One afternoon he went to a party. He was very disagreeable and wouldn’t
play any games at all. He simply sat in a corner and waited until supper
time came. Then he ate all the ice-cream, all the candy and all the cake
that he could get hold of. None of the other children went near him, for
they didn’t care about a little boy who only cared about eating all the
time.
“That night Billy felt very sick when he went to bed. But he soon fell
asleep. In his sleep, though, a great horned dragon appeared and said to
him:
“‘Billy, it’s for your sake I’m coming here tonight. We dragons aren’t
nearly so dreadful as we’re made out to be. We take a great interest in
children, and I am going to take a great interest in you.
“‘Before you made such a little—yes, I must say it—a little piggie-wig of
yourself you were a very nice little boy. But now you’re fat and lazy.
So every night I shall chase you around in your dreams until you give up
eating so much jam and candy and until you once more enjoy playing around
with the other little boys and girls.’
“‘Oh, please don’t!’ said Billy, who was terrified.
“‘Yes,’ said the dragon; ‘I’m a good friend of yours, and I shall make
you a real boy again. In a few weeks you really won’t know yourself.’
“With that he was gone, but he kept his word, and every night chased
Billy around in his dreams until he gave up eating so many sweets and
played games and became a real boy again.”
JUNE 30: Cozy Balsam Flowers
“I am sure,” said daddy, “that the scarlet flowers known as the Balsam
flowers love the very coziness of a fireplace. For they always thrive
better in a room where there is an open fire than they do with Mr. Sun’s
rays shining down upon them.
“And perhaps they can read stories in the fireplace. Perhaps they can see
fairy-tales being acted in the blue and red and orange flames.
“Anyway, they love the open fires, and so I think we ought to call them
the cozy Balsam Flowers!”
JULY 1: A Brother’s Plan
“There was once,” said daddy, “a boy whose name was Worthington, and for
short they called him Worthy.
“He had a sister whom he called Mimmie, and it is a story of these two I
want to tell you this evening.”
Jack and Evelyn looked very much pleased. They loved to hear about other
children, especially of boys and girls about their own ages.
“Worthington was unlike some brothers, but he was like you in this way,
Jack; he liked to play with his sister. His sister liked, too, to play
with him. He never frightened her, but he showed her how to do things,
and she was never afraid when she was with him. In the fall he took her
for rides in her express-cart, and he made a high seat in the cart for
her when he took her for slower and more stylish rides.
“He taught her to climb trees and to swim and to do tricks on the
trapeze. And she, too, used to play in the snowball fights, back in the
forts which he and the other boys would make.
“Well, it was summer, and Worthington was not going to school. He thought
and he thought and he thought, and finally he said:
“‘I wonder if it couldn’t be done. I will try anyway.’ He worked out the
whole scheme in his head, and the next day he went to his aunt who owned
a garden, and he said:
“‘Auntie, I have been thinking about something.’
“‘This summer,’ he began, ‘I could hoe the beans in your garden, and I
could weed the garden paths. I could water the flowers every night, and
do all the weeding, in fact. You wouldn’t need to have a man do the work,
except one day a week to do the heavy things. And then I thought I could
give Mimmie a present of skates and boots out of my own money in the
fall.’ And Auntie engaged him as an assistant gardener then and there.”
JULY 2: The Best Dream
“Some children,” said daddy, “were playing.
“‘Let’s pretend we’re awfully rich,’ said two of the children. ‘We shall
have motor-cars and we shall have airplanes to fly in. We shall have
quantities of people to give orders to. We’ll never have to tidy our
rooms, and we’ll never have to run errands.’ So they began to play.
“Three other children said, ‘Let’s be very famous. We shall have all the
people in the world swarm around us as the bees do around the flowers
for the honey. They shall say how fine we are, how brave we are, and how
noble. They’ll put up monuments to us.’
“And still three other children wanted to play. ‘We want to play that we
have a few animals. They are such fun! More fun than anything. And if we
treat them right we’ll be loved so much. Yes, we shall play we have two
dogs and a little pony.’
“Now the Dream-King was sitting on a throne made of silver threads so
beautifully woven that they held together and gave him the most wonderful
of thrones. Over his head were little boys and girls flying about,
and there were Fairies, Gnomes, Elves, Brownies. And that night the
Dream-King sent dreams to these children. They all had their play-games
made real in their dreams. The two children who wanted to play they
were very rich, dreamed they were rich, but oh, how they hated it! All
around them were butlers and servants in wonderful liveries. And they had
great motor-cars which were driven by quiet, stiff persons who wouldn’t
answer questions. They felt as if they owned absolutely nothing at all,
for everything was taken care of by some one else. They weren’t allowed
to play and get the least little scrap dirty, for they had to wear such
wonderful clothes! Oh, it was a very miserable dream.
“The children who wanted to be very famous dreamed they were surrounded
by people who never let them move so they could play. They saw a monument
put up in a park with their names written in stone. But the monument was
too big to play with.
“The children with the dogs and the pony were having the most gorgeous
dream. They were taking such care of their pets and the animals loved
them so.
“But at last the Dream-King left them, and they awoke suddenly.
“And one and all agreed that animals and games were fun, but that riches
and fame were very, very dull.”
JULY 3: The Hash and the Watermelon
The hash was talking to the watermelon. “I must tell you what the lady
of the house said. ‘Well, we’ll have to have some hash, I fear. I know
every one will be furious, but still one can’t waste food. And I’ll have
watermelon as a great treat for dessert to make up for having hash first.’
“Oh, dear,” said the watermelon, “that was too bad. I should think you
would hate me as a result.”
“Well, I don’t,” said the hash, “for I haven’t a jealous disposition. I
know that I’ve got to be made and so have the members of my family all
over the country, right down through history, I believe, for things must
not be wasted. But it doesn’t seem as if I were so dreadful as they make
me out to be. I think that if cooks bothered a little bit more about
me and put in some nice seasoning people might get so they’d say, ‘Oh,
we’re going to have hash to-night; goodie, goodie!’ That would certainly
rejoice the family of hash if such a thing ever happened.”
“I do believe some day people will come to see your true worth,” said the
watermelon.
“Ah, that’s it,” said the hash. “I have so much true worth and no charm!
I wish I had a little charm, so people would relish me and enjoy me. But
I do send out an entreaty to cooks to please season us and make us as
nice as possible, for hash is getting tired of insults and would like to
be liked just for a change.”
JULY 4: Independence Day
“The bird,” said daddy, “which has been chosen as the emblem of this
country—the bald eagle—has very wonderful and amazing vision or
eye-sight, which seems so particularly splendid.
“And doesn’t it seem fine to think that our national bird is not only so
powerful and free and so much a part of the whole country—for his range
is not limited to one part—but that he can see so far?
“For when our national bird can see so far surely it must make us try to
see far ahead too and to see clearly and to see truly so that we can all
do our best to march on along the paths set for us that July 4th, 1776,
in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.”
JULY 5: The Sun and the Thunder
“Now Mr. Sun was feeling lazy,” said daddy, “and besides this was his day
for playing tag with the King of the Clouds and old King Thunder. For
(would you believe it?) Mr. Sun is very fond of a good old-fashioned game
of tag once in a while, and he began now trying to catch King Thunder.
“As he did so he got back of one of the clouds and it became quite dark
on the earth. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘old King Thunder, come here! Those people
down on the earth said they were glad you had stopped making such a
noise! I wouldn’t stand it if I were you. Go back and tell them what you
think of them! Roar your hardest!’
“And sure enough the Thunder and Rain began again, and the Earth People
said: ‘We’re having one of those days when one moment the sun is shining
and the next it is thundering and raining.’”
JULY 6: The True Story of a Dog
The Fourth of July had passed and Jack and Evelyn were still very tired,
but daddy had a story to tell them, a really true story, and, of course,
they were very eager to hear it.
“There was a dog once named Dash. He was an Irish setter, and he
belonged to an army family. His master was a young lieutenant in the
army, and his master’s father was a general.
“Now, this dog was quite old, but he had led an active life which had
agreed with him splendidly, and he didn’t behave as if he were old at
all. There were several young children in the family, and he was made a
great pet. What he liked above everything was the sound of guns.
“He had been to numerous army posts, and each one seemed to him to be
quite perfect, especially on the days of target practise or when the
salutes were fired.
“But, alas, one summer the family went to live in a stupid, quiet little
village, where there was absolutely no life at all.
“Dash seemed to be pining away in the village. Quiet country life didn’t
agree with this dog of the army. The family thought that maybe Dash was
going to die of old age until one day came—the day of joy to so many
thousands of people! And it was the day for Dash. ‘Could it be true?’
he thought to himself when he first heard the sound of a huge dynamite
cracker. Then came another. With a bound Dash was out of his corner, wide
awake and barking furiously. There was no more sleep for that household
that night, but little did they care, for all wished to enter into the
celebration.
“Late in the day the young lieutenant said to a friend of his: ‘Let’s
go off to the river. I have several cannon fire-crackers to send off. I
didn’t dare to fire them to-day, as I was afraid they might break the
windows. But we can throw them over the bridge. Dash has gone to have his
supper and is somewhat calmed down.’
“So off they started for the river, and over the bridge they threw a
lighted cannon cracker. Just before it landed in the water off it went
with a terrific report.
“They had lighted the other and thrown it into the water when Dash went
bounding into the river, swimming toward the awful firecracker. These
crackers had been recommended as ‘sure to go off,’ and there was the
beloved Dash going for it.
“But the firecracker did not go off! Dash sniffed at it disgustedly,
while his master breathed the biggest sigh of relief and thanks of his
life.”
JULY 7: The Rabbit Named Pigeon
“Why, what is the trouble, Mrs. Pouter Pigeon?” said Mother Rabbit.
“Oh,” sobbed Mrs. Pouter Pigeon, “I have fallen and hurt myself terribly!
I won’t be able to get out of reach of bigger animals who may want to
eat me up, and I don’t want to be eaten up.”
At that she burst into more sobs.
“Well, to tell you the truth,” said Mother Rabbit, “I don’t believe there
is a creature living who wants to be eaten up. But you come and live with
us, and I will see that you are protected.”
So Mrs. Pouter Pigeon went to live with Mother Rabbit. They became very
friendly and attached to one another.
And then when the next little bunny rabbit was born his mother said, “Now
I shall name him Pigeon after you, Mrs. Pouter Pigeon.”
And Mrs. Pouter Pigeon strutted about and said, “You have not only saved
my life by having me come and live with you, but now you are paying me a
fine compliment.”
JULY 8: The Big Tent
“This story,” said daddy, “is to be about Peter Gnome’s circus.
“‘This way to the Big Tent! This way to the Big Tent!’ he called. Over
and over again he kept saying it until finally he had enough little
creatures following him to fill as big a Tent as ever you’ve seen.
“At last he stopped, and there every one saw an enormous tent made out of
birch bark and moss. Inside there were seats made of old trees, and there
were also Reserved Seats of old pieces of trees covered with moss. Most
of the Fairies took Reserved Seats.
“And there were poles to keep the tent up. Some of the Spiders and
Caterpillars who had followed along climbed up the poles. For they said
they might miss a great many sights if they stayed on the ground, but if
they were high up they would see everything that was going on.
“Then the circus began. And such a circus as it was. The Gnomes had
certainly practised some very fine tricks, and the way they dashed about
the ring in the center of the tent, and the way they turned somersaults
and did tricks, made the Brownies and Elves and Fairies delighted beyond
words that they had been invited.
“But when all the tricks were over, and all the little creatures thought
it was time to leave, out came Peter Gnome and stood on the platform made
of a toadstool in the center of the ring.
“‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ said Peter Gnome—for he had heard that was
what they were called in the real circus tents—‘I want to take up a few
minutes of your time.’
“‘It’s not our time any more than any one else’s,’ interrupted one of the
Snails who had come in late.
“‘Well,’ continued Peter Gnome, ‘for a little while I wish to talk to
you. And this is what I want to say. After this circus there will be a
concert—one of the finest concerts ever heard. And in addition to that
there will be a Side Show where will be seen the Bearded Lady and the
Tallest Man living. All keep your seats and one of the Gnomes will be
around to collect from you the extra payment of two stems of grass.’
“All of the Fairies and the rest of the audience laughed when Peter Gnome
said that. For well they knew he didn’t want any payment for the concert
and Side Show, but that he thought it would be so much more fun to have a
Gnome go around and make believe to collect it.”
“Who was the tallest man?” asked Jack.
“Old Mr. Giant,” said daddy. “He had been made to come just this once,
and he did enjoy being made such a fuss of. The only thing he didn’t like
so much was when some of the Spiders crawled up his great long legs and
tickled him a little. But soon they stopped when they saw he didn’t like
it and began weaving webs instead.
“‘All right,’ said Mr. Giant. ‘Make all the homes you like. I’ll carry
you to my Cave when I go, and you can have your homes there.’ The
Spiders, of course, were delighted.
“And the Bearded Lady turned out to be none other than Peter Gnome
himself—dressed in a fine gown of oak leaves and wearing over his face a
mask made out of the roots of trees!”
JULY 9: Mrs. Hippopotamus
“Ladies,” said Mrs. Hippopotamus, “are often very vain. They care about
their figures and about their looks and about their hats and about their
shoes. They care about their dresses and they care about the styles,
while I, the fine Mrs. Hippopotamus, am above such things.
“I do not care if my legs are short and my body enormous and all out of
proportion to my legs.
“I do not care if my mouth is like a cavern—it is so large. I do not mind
it that my skin is so queer, of a funny dark brown color with all sorts
of little holes and marks and such all over me.
“I have horribly oily stuff over me too, but I do not mind. What is
more, there is great sense to that. That keeps me from getting ill when
I go about rivers in Africa where there are all kinds of fevers and much
sickness.
“I have great teeth, teeth such as no lady would like, I’m sure. They
like little white even teeth, silly little things.
[Illustration: “‘YOU ARE PAYING ME A FINE COMPLIMENT’”—_Page 161_]
“I’m above such things. I’m not ashamed of my teeth. I like them. They’re
good sensible, strong teeth. And I’m not going to worry because they’re
irregular. I’m not so vain as to long for regular teeth.
“My teeth and tusks can act like scissors for they’re shaped so as to act
that way. That’s better than having white even teeth.
“I live in the water and there I go and look for my food. I don’t go into
silly shops and to market as ladies do.
“But there is just one thing I feel in sympathy with ladies about—at
least all ladies who are loving mothers—I can understand what it means
to have a baby look at its mother out of its lovely baby eyes which are
as beautiful as anything in the world. And I can see its love for its
mother, and oh, my whole heart goes out with love for it.
“Yes, sometimes when you see the great old ugly hippopotamus you must not
only think of the ugliness but you must say, ‘Back of that thick hide,
behind that awful jaw and those hideous features, deep down in the heart
of a mother hippopotamus there is love and devotion and the beautiful joy
of giving of that love to one’s own baby.’
“For a baby hippopotamus is a baby to be loved by a mother hippopotamus.”
JULY 10: The Papoose
“IN a quaint old city,” said daddy, “Indians come into town every
Saturday morning with bright-colored baskets and beaded moccasins.
They make these things and they make beaded bags and purses and little
ornaments.
“They drive oxen instead of horses and the oxen move as slowly as if they
did not care in the least if they ever got anywhere at all!
“The Indian women, or squaws as they are called, carry large baskets upon
their heads in which are the things they have to sell, smaller baskets,
purses and moccasins.
“Sometimes, too, they bring into the town flowers in the summer and in
the autumn red berries—for they have a little village of their own out in
the country. They are not wild at all and they would not dream of hurting
any one.
“One day a little girl named Olive was sitting in her room reading when
she heard the front door bell ring. She went downstairs and there was a
little Indian girl, not any older than herself.
“‘Will the beautiful lady buy pretty basket?’ asked the little Indian
girl.
“Olive was so pleased! She was not nearly big enough to be called
‘lady,’ for she was still very young, and she knew quite well that she
was not beautiful at all. She had freckles and a very big mouth, and she
had only a little hair which was quite straight. And she was tall for her
age and much too thin. But she had never been called beautiful before and
though she knew the little Indian girl was quite wrong, still she was
delighted.
“‘You are beautiful yourself,’ said Olive. For the Indian girl had long
black hair and enormous dark eyes, wonderful dark skin with quite a good
deal of color.
“‘Me beautiful?’ she asked. ‘Oh no, me not beautiful at all.’