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Over in the meadow,
In a nest built of sticks,
Lived a black mother-crow
And her little crows six. .
"Caw!" said the mother;

"We caw," said the six: So they cawed and they called, In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow,

Where the grass is so even, Lived a gay mother-cricket

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And her little crickets seven. Chirp!" said the mother; "We chirp," said the seven: So they chirped cheery notes, In the grass soft and even. Over in the meadow,

By the old mossy gate, Lived a brown mother-lizard And her little lizards eight. "Bask!" said the mother;

"We bask," said the eight: So they basked in the sun, On the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow,

Where the clear pools shine,
Lived a green mother-frog

And her little froggies nine.
"Croak!" said the mother;

"We croak," said the nine:
So they croaked and they plashed,
Where the clear pools shine.

Over in the meadow,

In a sly little den,
Lived a gray mother-spider
And her little spiders ten.
"Spin!" said the mother;
"We spin," said the ten:
So they spun lace webs,
In their sly little den.

XLIX. THE SWALLOW.

Fly away, fly away, over the sea,

Sun-loving swallow, for summer is done; Come again, come again, come back to me, Bringing the summer and bringing the sun.

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When war between Germany and France ended, the people of Alsace and Lorraine were subjects of the German Emperor. They were

French, and loved their

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native land. It was hard for them to give up the language they loved and begin to learn the German language.

In a village of Alsace lived a boy named Frantz. He was a a pupil of the old village schoolmaster, Mr. Hamel. Let little French Frantz

tell the sad story of the last class in Mr. Hamel's school.

I was late going to school. My teacher had given us a long lesson in the French lan

guage, and I did not know the first word. For a moment the thought came to me that I would stay away from school and spend the day in the fields. The day was warm and bright. The blackbirds were whistling on the edge of the woods, and down by the old mill the German soldiers were drilling.

But I thought again, and decided to go to school. As I ran through the streets I saw a group of men standing before the town-hall, reading a notice on the bulletin board. The blacksmith called to me, "Do not hurry so, little Frantz. You will get to school all too soon."

I thought he was laughing at me, and all out of breath I ran on till I entered the school yard. Usually as school opened there was a great noise from the opening and closing of the desks, and the cry of the master, "Silence!" In the midst of this usual noise, I thought, I would slip into my bench unseen. But this morning it was as quiet as a Sabbath morning. Mr. Hamel saw me. I was sure he would scold me for being tardy. But, no. He looked at me kindly and in a sweet voice said, "Take

your place quickly, my little Frantz; we will not begin the lesson without you."

Then I noticed that our master had dressed himself in his best clothes, just as he did on commencement day when he gave out the prizes to the best pupils. I was even more surprised to see the leading men of the village sitting on the front seats as silent as the pupils.

There were the old soldier with his cocked

hat, the mayor of the village, the post-master, and others. The old soldier had brought a French primer. This he opened on his knee, placed his spectacles on his nose, and began to read the lesson.

Astonished at this, I was even more astonished when my old master mounted his chair and in a sweet, sad voice said, "My children, this is the last time that we will meet as a school. The order has come that German must be taught in all the schools. To-morrow the new master will come. This is your last lesson in French. Pray give good attention."

Poor old man! for forty years he had been the master of the village school. He loved the French language, and now that the end

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