name, and to tell the birds by their songs. In the spring they boiled
sap for maple sugar. In the fall they gathered nuts, and helped store
away the apples in the cellar.
There were two daughters of the Clovernook household who liked nothing
so well as their books. They went to school when their mother could
spare them from the work of the home. At night they often wished to
study, but they had no lamp. So they put some lard into a saucer and
used a piece of cloth for a wick.
Year after year these two girls spent all their spare moments in
reading and study. What they did when they were older, and how they
came to be called the Poet Sisters, you shall soon learn.
THE POET SISTERS
Alice Clovernook postoffice print
Phœbe Cincinnati newspaper parties
The Clovernook cottage was the home of the Cary family, and the Poet
Sisters were Alice Cary and Phœbe Cary.
While the sisters were still little girls, they began to write verses.
Phœbe was but fourteen years old when she sent her first poem to a
newspaper. She told no one, not even her sister Alice, what she had
done.
[Illustration: Alice Cary.]
At last her father brought the paper from the postoffice. When Phœbe
saw her poem in print she was so happy that she laughed and cried.
After that, she did not care if her clothes were plain, or if she
could not go to school as much as she wished.
The Clovernook home was near Cincinnati, Ohio. When Alice and Phœbe
grew older they left the home of their childhood and went to live in
New York city.
They were now able to earn money by writing stories and poems for
books and papers. At last they could make their home beautiful with
the books and pictures which they had so long wished for.
[Illustration: Phœbe Cary.]
Alice and Phœbe loved children, and they wrote many beautiful verses
for their little friends. In their charming stories they tell us about
their life in Clovernook, and of their plays in hayfield and barn.
OUR HOMESTEAD
Our old brown homestead reared its walls
From the wayside dust aloof,
Where the apple boughs could almost cast
Their fruit upon its roof;
And the cherry tree so near it grew
That when awake I've lain,
In the lonesome nights, I've heard the limbs
As they creaked against the pane.
The sweetbrier, under the window sill,
Which the early birds made glad,
And the damask rose, by the garden fence,
Were all the flowers we had.
We had a well, a deep old well,
Where the spring was never dry,
And the cool drops down from the mossy stones
Were falling constantly.
And there never was water half so sweet
As the draught which filled my cup,
Drawn up to the curb by the rude old sweep
That my father's hand set up.
--PHŒBE CARY.
SUPPOSE
Suppose, my little lady,
Your doll should break her head,
Could you make it whole by crying
Till your eyes and nose are red?
And wouldn't it be pleasanter
To treat it as a joke,
And say you're glad 'twas dolly's
And not your head that broke?
Suppose you're dressed for walking,
And the rain comes pouring down,
Will it clear off any sooner
Because you scold and frown?
And wouldn't it be better
For you to smile than pout,
And so make sunshine in the house,
When there is none without?
Suppose your task, my little man,
Is very hard to get,
Will it make it any easier
For you to sit and fret?
And wouldn't it be wiser
Than waiting like a dunce,
To go to work in earnest
And learn the thing at once?
Suppose the world doesn't please you,
Nor the way some people do,
Do you think the whole creation
Will be altered just for you?
And isn't it, my boy or girl,
The wisest, bravest plan
Whatever comes or doesn't come,
To do the best you can?
--PHŒBE CARY.
THE RIGHT WAY
The air for the wing of the sparrow,
The bush for the robin and wren,
But always the path that is narrow
And straight, for the children of men.
--ALICE CARY.
NOVEMBER
[Illustration]
The leaves are fading and falling,
The winds are rough and wild,
The birds have ceased their calling,
But let me tell you, my child,
Though day by day, as it closes,
Doth darker and colder grow,
The roots of the bright red roses
Will keep alive in the snow.
And when the winter is over,
The boughs will get new leaves,
The quail come back to the clover,
And the swallow back to the eaves.
The robin will wear on his bosom
A vest that is bright and new,
And the loveliest wayside blossom
Will shine with the sun and dew.
So, when some dear joy loses
Its beauteous summer glow,
Think how the roots of the roses
Are kept alive in the snow.
--ALICE CARY.
COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD
haste remained different gentle
spread orchard delighted cotton
bodies paddled ornaments natives
[Illustration: Columbus in the New World.]
When Columbus reached the New World, he landed on a beautiful green
island. He tells us that the island was covered with trees like an
orchard. The trees and the flowers and the fruits were different from
any that he had ever seen before.
All day he remained on shore with his men. They were delighted with
the warm air, the clear streams, the bright flowers, and the fresh
fruit.
The natives were friendly and gentle. They wore no clothes, but their
bodies were painted with many colors. They came near the strangers and
seemed to wonder at their white faces.
Some of the natives wore rings of gold in their noses and ears.
Columbus tried to learn from them where they had found the gold. They
pointed to the south and said "Cuba." By signs they led him to believe
that Cuba was a land where there was much gold.
Columbus was in haste to reach the mines of gold and the rich cities
about which he had read. The next day he sailed with all his ships and
sailors toward the south.
They passed by many green islands as beautiful as the one on which
they had landed. Columbus sat on deck, watching the shore. He hoped
and he believed that he should soon see the towers of a city rise
toward the sky.
The news of the visit of the white men spread from island to island.
The natives ran to the shore to see the wonderful ships with sails
like white wings. They paddled out to the ships in their canoes, and
they brought fruit and balls of cotton yarn.
Columbus and his men were looking everywhere for gold. Whenever they
saw a village of huts they visited the chief and asked him where gold
could be found. They traded bells and beads for the gold ornaments
which the natives wore.
Soon Columbus reached the shores of Cuba. Everywhere he saw beautiful
flowers and fruits. He found gentle natives living in poor huts. But
he saw no cities and he found no mines of gold.
Columbus supposed that he had reached some small islands on the coast
of India. For this reason he called the dark-skinned people living
there Indians. He did not know that he had found the New World.
COLUMBUS RETURNS TO SPAIN
January obliged several court
Isabella decided fifteenth delay
Ferdinand wrecked discovered search
Santa Maria farewell seaport voyage
At last Columbus gave up the search for gold, and decided to return to
Spain. He wished to tell King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of the
islands he had visited.
He was sure that he had discovered a new way to India, and he wished
to ask the king for more ships and more men. He believed that great
riches could be found on these islands which he had visited.
Early in January he gave a farewell feast to the natives. Then he
sailed for Spain, taking with him six Indians.
His flagship, the _Santa Maria_, had been wrecked. One of his captains
had sailed away in the _Pinta_ and had not returned. And so Columbus
was obliged to cross the ocean in the _Nina_, which was the smallest
of his three ships.
The voyage was long and the storms were many. The little ship was
tossed about by the waves and was often in great danger. But at last
the shores of Spain were seen by the sailors, and great was their joy.
At noon, on the fifteenth of March, 1493, they sailed into the harbor
which they had left more than seven months before. All the people in
the town crowded to the shore. For a long time they had thought that
Columbus was lost at sea, and that they would never see him and his
sailors again.
The first act of Columbus was to lead his men to the church, where
they gave thanks to God for their safe return.
Very soon the good news spread over all Spain. Bells were rung, and
great fires were lighted on the hilltops.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were several hundred miles from the
seaport town where Columbus landed with his sailors. As soon as the
king and queen heard of his safe return, they sent Columbus a letter
asking him to come without delay to their court.
COLUMBUS AT THE COURT OF SPAIN
third thronged bearing honor
knelt banners received turtle
praise kingdom officers parrots
joined listened awaiting account
The time of year was delightful for the long journey through Spain.
Every mile of the way Columbus and his men received a welcome. As they
passed along the plains and over the mountains, men, women, and children
came to see the brave sailors who had dared to cross the ocean.
When they reached the end of their journey, they were met by officers
of the king. Then all marched into the city through crowded streets
where banners were flying.
First came Columbus riding a fine horse. Next walked six Indians,
painted and wearing feathers in their hair.
The sailors followed, carrying strange birds and animals from across
the sea. Some had live parrots which they had caught and tamed.
One man carried a turtle shell almost as large as himself. Others
showed with great pride the curious rings and crowns of gold which
they had brought from the islands.
The king and queen sat on their throne awaiting Columbus. When he came
near, they rose to greet him, and they asked him to take a seat by
their side.
In the great room were the lords and ladies of the court and the chief
men of the kingdom. Every one looked with wonder at the painted
Indians and at the strange gifts which were carried by the sailors.
Columbus then gave an account of his wonderful voyage. When his story
was done, the king and queen knelt in thanks to God. Then the great
crowd of people joined them in thanksgiving and in a grand song of
praise.
So great was the honor paid to Columbus that he rode with the king and
his son through the streets of the city. The people thronged to see
him, and they called him the third king.
[Illustration: Painting by R. Baluac.
COLUMBUS BEFORE THE KING AND QUEEN.]
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
I.
rejoice Thursday invited quail
rushes lowlands dainties guests
arrived cranberries already whoops
Almost a year had passed since the first company of Pilgrims had come
to America. About fifty of those who had crossed the ocean in the
Mayflower were now living in their new home.
They had laid out a village street and had built a few houses in the
place which they called Plymouth. Their houses were made of logs. The
roofs were very steep and were covered with grass and rushes.
It had been a busy summer for the Pilgrims. They had worked hard in
the gardens and the fields. But the harvests were good and there would
be food enough for the coming winter. How thankful they were!
"Let us set aside a day in which to give thanks for this great
harvest," they said. "It is God who has sent the sunshine and the
rain to make the seeds grow. We will have a day of thanksgiving, and
ask the friendly Indians to come and rejoice with us."
So the Indian chief and his band were invited to the feast. Such a
busy time as that was for the Pilgrims! The men went to the forest to
hunt deer, wild turkeys, and other game. All the women were at work,
and the smoke of the ovens rose from the chimneys.
Even the children helped. Some of them gathered the cranberries that
were turning red in the lowlands. Some picked the wild grapes that were
growing purple on the vines. Others brought home the nuts which were
falling from the trees. The older boys were sent to the beach for clams.
The Indians were invited to come on Thursday. At sunrise on that day
the Pilgrims were awakened by whoops and yells which told them that
their guests had already arrived.
II.
game feast November stew
roasts poured turkeys veil
stuffed sermon popcorn haze
It was in the month of November, but the weather was mild and lovely,
and a soft blue haze seemed to veil the woods.
Late wild flowers were blooming. Bright leaves were falling from the
trees. It was the time of year that we call Indian summer.
A great fire was built out of doors for the cooking, and long tables
were spread in the open air. When the loud roll of the drum was heard,
all the people went to the log fort on the hill which was used as a
meeting house. There they gave thanks to God for the rich harvest of
the year.
Everybody, young and old, was there. The little children must have
grown very tired of the long sermon. They must have wanted to go home
to the good dinner which they knew was waiting for them.
At last the Thanksgiving feast was ready. In the middle of the long
table stood a huge bowl of stew made of different kinds of game.
[Illustration]
There were great roasts of deer and roasted turkeys stuffed with nuts.
There were the cakes and puddings made by the Pilgrim mothers. And it
is said that the Indians brought a large basket of popcorn which they
poured on the table just as the meal began.
In this way the Pilgrims passed their first Thanksgiving Day in America.
--MARIAN M. GEORGE.
THANKSGIVING DAY
Over the river and through the wood,
To grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way
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,
To have a first-rate play;
Here the bells ring,
"Ting-a-ling-ding!"
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate.
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
[Illustration]
Over the river and through the wood,
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
--LYDIA MARIA CHILD.
THE SNOW BABY
I.
freeze shaggy Eskimos cliffs
noisy icebergs enormous hoofs
Hundreds and hundreds of miles away in the white frozen north, there is
a wonderful land of snow and ice. There strange little yellow people,
called Eskimos, live in snow houses, and dress in the skins of animals.
In summer, in this wonderful land, the sun never sets, but shines all
the time, day and night. Flowers spring up, and soft-eyed reindeer
wander about cropping the short grass.
The ice breaks up and drifts out to sea. Great rivers of ice push
forward into the water. Enormous icebergs break off from them and
float away like white ships.
The blue waves dance and sparkle in the sun. Singing brooks rush down
the mountains. Thousands of noisy sea birds come to the rocky cliffs
to lay their eggs.
Glossy seals swim in the water, and once in a while a shaggy white
bear goes running over the floating ice in search of seals.
The Eskimos, paddling swiftly through the water in their strange skin
boats, hunt these animals for food and clothing.
In winter there is no sunshine at all in Eskimo land. For four long,
long months it is dark all the time, just as it is here in the night.
The ground is covered deep with snow, and the poor deer must dig
through it with their hoofs for grass and moss.
The sea is covered thick with ice, and the birds fly away. The cold is
so terrible that the Eskimos would freeze to death were it not for
their thick, warm fur coats.
II.
hooded blankets veranda bushy
coffee sealskin September sugar
Here in this wonderful land there was found, one September day, a
snow-white baby with big blue eyes.
[Illustration]
And such a funny little house it was where she was found. It was only
one story high. The walls were more than a foot thick, and the outside
was covered with heavy black paper. All around the house was a veranda.
Its walls were built of boxes of biscuit, sugar, coffee, and tea.
Inside the house, the little room where the baby lived was lined with
soft warm blankets. There was a bright carpet on the floor and
pictures on the walls.
All these things, like the boxes of food outside, came in the ship
which brought the baby's father and mother to this strange country.
One window of the baby's room looked out upon a great river of ice.
From the other window you could see high red and brown mountains. And
here was the sea in which strange-looking icebergs floated.
III.
August mittens trousers sleigh
steamed northern language sledge
When the people of that land heard that there was a white baby in the
small black house, they came hundreds of miles to see the little
stranger.
They talked to the baby in their own queer language. They called her
the Snow Baby, and they brought her presents of fur mittens and little
sealskin boots.
After the sun went away the baby lived for days and weeks in a little
room lined with blankets. A lamp was kept burning in the room all the
time, both day and night.
One of the Eskimo women made a little suit of clothes for the baby,
all out of furs. There were only two pieces in this suit. First there
was a pair of little trousers and boots made together. Over this a
hooded coat was worn.
When the sun returned, the Snow Baby was taken out of doors every day.
No matter how cold it was she had a sleigh ride on her little Eskimo
sledge. You should have seen her team of dogs with their bright eyes,
their sharp-pointed ears, and their big bushy tails.
For nearly a year the Snow Baby lived in this strange, northern home.
But one day in August a big black ship came up the bay. It was the same
ship that had brought the Snow Baby's father and mother to the Snowland.
Then the baby and her mother went on board the ship and steamed away
south to their own American home.
_From "The Snow Baby."
Copyright, 1901, by Frederick A. Stokes Company._
A SNOW HOUSE
knees puppy harness dries
force needle clothing twists
thaws dimly platform whales
In the summer time the Eskimo people live in tents made of skins. In
the winter they build their houses out of hard blocks of ice and snow.
[Illustration]
Perhaps you would like to visit an Eskimo family, and see how these
yellow people live in a snow house. But how shall we get into the house?
There seems to be no door in this strange-looking mound of snow.
We must bow our heads and crawl on our hands and knees through a dark
passage. Soon we come to an open space where we stand upright in a
dimly lighted room.
All around the room is a bank of snow next to the wall of the house.
The top of this bank is broad and level like a table. It is covered
with the thick skins of reindeer, bear, and foxes. Here the family eat
and sleep, and here the children play.
Near the doorway stands the stove, on a raised platform. You would think
it a very poor stove, for it is only a hollow stone filled with oil and
moss. When the moss is lighted, it burns like the wick of a lamp.
This stove warms the room, melts the water for drinking, dries wet
clothing, and thaws the frozen meat. It lights the room dimly and we
see the Eskimo father, mother, and children in their snow house.
A bag is lying on the thick furs. Now it moves and the mother takes it
in her arms. See, it is a baby boy in a bag of feathers.
When an Eskimo baby is in the house, he lies in his feather bag. And
when he is out of doors, he is always on his mother's back, inside of
her fur hood.
As soon as an Eskimo boy is old enough to walk, he has a puppy for a
playmate. He learns to harness his dog and drive it all around the
room. Soon he will be able to drive a team of dogs, as his father
does, and ride swiftly over the snow.
[Illustration]
The large boys catch fish and hunt seal. They even help to kill great
whales and fierce white bears.
But what does the little Eskimo girl do? The little sister learns to
sew and to make clothes out of skins. She makes her own needle from a
hard bone or a piece of iron, and she twists thread from strips of
deerskin. Everything the Eskimos use they make with their own hands.
Sometimes our ships force their way through the frozen ocean to their
land of ice and snow. The Eskimo people think these great ships the
most wonderful things they have ever seen.
THE NORTHERN SEAS
Up! up! let us a voyage take;
Why sit we here at ease?
Find us a vessel tight and snug,
Bound for the northern seas.
I long to see the Northern Lights,
With their rushing splendors, fly,
Like living things, with flaming wings,
Wide o'er the wondrous sky.
I long to see those icebergs vast,
With heads all crowned with snow,
Whose green roots sleep in the awful deep,
Two hundred fathoms low.
I long to hear the thundering crash
Of their terrific fall;
And the echoes from a thousand cliffs,
Like lonely voices call.
There we shall see the fierce white bear,
The sleepy seals aground,
And the spouting whales that to and fro
Sail with a dreary sound.
We'll pass the shores of solemn pine,
Where wolves and black bears prowl,
And away to the rocky isles of mist
To rouse the northern fowl.
And there, in the wastes of the silent sky,
With the silent earth below,
We shall see far off to his lonely rock
The lonely eagle go.
Then softly, softly we will tread
By island streams, to see
Where the pelican of the silent North
Sits there all silently.
--WILLIAM HOWITT.
DECEMBER
And now December's snows are here,
The light flakes flutter down,
And hoarfrost glitters, white and fair,
Upon the branches brown.
--SELECTED.
JANUARY
Wintry day! frosty day!
God a cloak on all doth lay;
On the earth the snow he sheddeth,
O'er the lamb a fleece he spreadeth,
Gives the bird a coat of feather
To protect it from the weather.
--SELECTED.
FEBRUARY
In the snowing and the blowing,
In the cold and cruel sleet,
Little flowers begin their growing,
Underneath your feet.
--MARY MAPES DODGE.
CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night!
Christmas in lands of the fir-tree and pine.
Christmas in lands of the palm-tree and vine.
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white.
Christmas where cornfields lie sunny and bright!
Christmas where children are hopeful and gay,
Christmas where old men are patient and gray,
Christmas where peace, like a dove in his flight,
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight,
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night.
For the Christ-Child who comes is the Master of all;
No palace too great and no cottage too small.
--PHILLIPS BROOKS.
THE CHRISTMAS SONG
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will to man."
--ST. LUKE.
The shepherds were watching their flocks
On a beautiful starlit night,
When the sky was suddenly filled
With a band of angels bright.
Oh! shepherds fear not but rejoice,
For we bring good news, they sing;
In Bethlehem is born this day,
A saviour who is Christ your King!
A glad and wonderful song
Rang through the heavens then;
It was "Glory to God on high,
Peace on earth, good will toward men."
[Illustration: THE CHRISTMAS SONG.]
THE NEW YEAR
The New Year comes in the midnight hour
When the beautiful world is still,
And the moonlight falls in a silver stream
Over meadow and wood and hill.
We can not hear the tread of his feet,
For so silently comes he;
But the ringing bells the good news tell
As they sound over land and sea.
Where'er he steps new joys upspring,
And hopes, that were lost or dim,
Grow sweet and strong in the golden hours,
That he everywhere bears with him.
He brings us snow from the fleecy clouds;
He sends us the springtime showers;
He gladdens our world with the light of love
And fills its lap with flowers.
Some day, as softly as he came,
He will pass through the open door,
And we who sing at his coming now
Will never see him more.
--MARIE ZETTERBERG.
HOW PLANTS GROW
trunk halves dissolves juice
swells course openings blood
Cut an apple into halves and take out one of the little brown seeds.
How small it is! Now look at an apple tree. Did the apple tree come
out of a little brown seed like the one you hold in your hand?
[Illustration]
You say that it did. Look again. Which is larger, the seed or the
apple tree? And now you laugh, as you say: "Of course an apple tree is
larger than an apple seed." Then there must be something in the apple
tree that was not in the seed.
The tree has a trunk or stem. It has leaves and it has roots. How were
all these made?