Thinking only of her crested head-
Poor, foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider,
And fiercely held her fast.

He dragged her up his winding stair, Into his dismal den,

Within his little parlor

But she ne'er came out again.

And now, dear little children,
Who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words,
I pray you ne'er give heed.

Unto an evil counsellor

Close heart and ear and eye, And take a lesson from this tale Of the Spider and the Fly.

ǎb'sence chirped cousin fledged sickle

neigh'bôr

quiv'èred

un'cle

LXI. THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES.

A Lark, who had Young Ones in a field of grain which was almost ripe, was afraid that the reapers would come before her young brood were fledged. So every day when she flew off to look for food, she charged them to take note of what they heard in her absence, and to tell her of it when she came home.

"The grain

One day, when she was gone, they heard the owner of the field say to his son, seems ripe enough to be cut. morrow and ask our friends to come and help reap it."

Go early toand neighbors

When the old Lark came home the Little Ones quivered and chirped round her, and told her what had happened, begging her to take them away as fast as she could. The mother bade them be easy; "For," said she, "if he depends on his friends and his neighbors, I am sure the grain will not be reaped to-morrow."

Next day she went out again, and left the same orders as before. The owner came and

waited. The sun grew hot, but nothing was done, for not a soul came. "You see," said the

owner to his son, "these friends of ours are not to be depended upon; so run off at once to your uncles and cousins, and say I wish them to come early to-morrow morning and help us reap our grain." This the Young Ones, in a great fright, told also to their mother.

next day, and, finding his relatives as backward as his neighbors, said to his son, "Now listen to me. Get two good, sharp sickles ready for to-morrow morning, for I have decided that we will reap the grain by ourselves."

66

The young Larks told this to their mother. Now, my dears," said she, "it is time for us When a man decides to do his work himself it is not likely that he will be disappointed."

to go.

The next morning the old Lark and her children left the wheat-field. They were just in time. The old man and his son reaped the wheat that day.

The other day, as I was walking on one of the oldest streets of the old town of Newport, I saw a little girl standing before the window of a milliner's shop.

* Copyright.