He loved to push his light canoe over the bright waters, and.to sit under the trees and listen to the music of the birds. The boy did not want to go to war. He wanted his people to love one another and to live in peace. The old chief at last decided to take the boy far into the forest to a little wigwam where he would have to live all alone. Here in the lonely forest the old chief thought his son would become a great warrior. Here the father left his son for seven days and nights. Then the old chief came to see him, and brought him a nice breakfast. But the boy was not there! He called loud and long for his son, but received no answer. The chief heard a strange bird singing in a tree. He looked up. The bird had a red breast and a brown coat. It said to the old chief, "I am a bird now; but I am still your son. Every year I shall come to tell you spring is near. I shall come with buds and blossoms, and try to make my people happy. I do not want my people to go to war." The Indians believe that the bird with a red breast and a brown coat came in this way. Do you know what bird this is? Have you seen him in the spring? Does he still come? Do you think the Indians really know how the Robin came? căs'tles sofà es tăb'lish păl'à ces kirk moored temples härbōr ་་ ་་ག XII.-BLOCK CITY. What are you able to build with your blocks? Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea, There I'll establish a city for me: A kirk and a mill and a palace beside, Great is the palace with pillar and wall, This one is sailing and that one is moored: Now I have done with it, down let it go! All in a moment the town is laid low. Block upon block lying scattered and free, What is there left of my town by the sea? Yet as I saw it, I see it again, The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men, And as long as I live and where'er I may be, I'll always remember my town by the sea. Holland dike peasants courage trickling de stroy' sê cũre' XIII. THE BOY AT THE DIKE. Far away across the blue sea is a low, flat land. It is called Holland. The land is so low that the people build walls along the sea to keep out the waters. These walls are called dikes. These dikes save the people from the angry sea. Behind these walls they live in safety, unless there is a break in the dike. Then the waters rush in and carry death to the poor peasants. Have you ever heard of brave little Peter, the boy whose courage saved the land and the lives of many people? One lovely afternoon in autumn Peter's mother called him to her side, gave him a basket containing cakes, and told him to carry them to an old blind man who lived beyond the dike. Little Peter set out on his errand with a glad heart. He was happy. because he was doing a kindness to the poor. He spent an hour with the blind man and then started home. As he walked along on the dike he noticed that the autumn storms had made the angry waves beat high against the dike. He thought of his father, who worked hard all day to keep the dike strong and secure. He felt glad that the wall was so strong. Surely the sea could not break down this grand dike. He stopped to gather some flowers for his mother and to listen to the waves dashing against the dike. Suddenly he noticed that the sun was setting. It was growing dark, and he was yet a long distance from home. He was just on the point of running for his home when he heard a strange sound. He paused. What! He heard a low, clear, trickling sound. He knew what that meant. Dropping his blossoms, he was up the bank in a moment. There was a small hole in the wall, through which a tiny stream was flowing. It was a break in the dike! He had no time to call for help. Hundreds of lives de |