THE
NURSERY
A Monthly Magazine
For Youngest Readers.
BOSTON:
THE NURSERY PUBLISHING COMPANY,
No. 36 Bromfield Street.
1881.
THE NURSERY PUBLISHING COMPANY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
IN PROSE.
PAGE "Home in Sight" 257 Nellie and Kitty 259 The Prisoner 260 Two Pets 264 The Wounded Lamb 268 Lisa 270 Drawing-Lesson 273 The Pet Fawn 275 The little Flower-Girl 278 Feeding the Ducks 281 Lonely Jack 284IN VERSE.
Contentment 261 The Brook 262 Blueberrying 265 The Soldiers 272 Jenny and Benny 274 How the Sheep found Bo-peep 277 Mabel and the Bust 280 "Tit for Tat" 283 Little Busybody 287 The Morning Sail (with music) 288"HOME IN SIGHT."
OME on deck, all hands, old and young, great and small, sick and well! Here is a sight that will do you good."
So said the bluff old captain to his passengers. Up they came, one after another, at the summons. The lady who was so worn down with sea-sickness sat with her head resting languidly on her husband's shoulder. The rest stood in groups, looking out upon the water.
The voyage had been a long one, and, though they were not all sea-sick, all were heartily sick of the sea,—all except two little children, a girl and a boy,
"What is there to be seen, captain?" said the children's mother, after trying in vain to make out any thing except sea and sky.
"Don't you know?" said the old man. "Let me point it out then to this little sailor."
So, taking little Willie in his arms while the vessel leaned before the breeze, he pointed with his forefinger, and said, "Do you see that dark-blue cloud right on the edge of the water, just where it meets the sky?"
"Yes, I see it," said the bright-eyed youngster.
"Well, do you know what it is, my lad? It isn't a cloud at all. That's land. Now do you know what land it is?"
"No, sir," said Willie.
"Then I'll tell you. It is old Cape Cod.—We are in sight of home, ladies and gentlemen," said the captain addressing his passengers. "We shall make Boston Light to-night, if this wind holds good."
This speech brought great applause. Then the captain sang out,—
Cheer up, my lively lads, and we'll go home together!"
"Hold me up," said little Ellen, "and let me see."
Then the captain held her up too; and when the children's mother, who had a fine voice, started the song,—
From a foreign shore,"
NELLIE AND KITTY.
EE little Nellie playing with her kitten. She had waked up early; but nurse was not ready to dress her.
She was just going to cry, when the kitten jumped up on the bed, and stood there with such a comical look, that, instead of crying, Nellie could not help laughing.
Then she got a string and began to play with kitty; so that when the nurse came in she found them both quite happy.
One day, Nellie was playing with her doll, and put it down in her lap. Kitty, who had been watching her all the time, jumped up in Nellie's lap, pushed the doll out, and lay down, looking at her mistress, as if to say,—
"What did you take her up for? I am the only one that has any right here."
THE PRISONER.
HE old hawk has been caught at last, and has been put in a cage, from which he cannot escape to do any more mischief. The fowls all come from the barnyard to see him. They dare go near him now, for they know he cannot harm them.
The sparrow looks saucily at him, saying, "Ah, ha, Sir Hawk! You have scared me many a time with your sharp claws and hooked beak; but now I am a match for you. It was fine fun for you to kill little chickens. Now you see what comes of it."
"Yes indeed," cries the turkey, "he killed seven dear little chickens. How glad I am that he is caught at last! I'll give him a piece of my mind now, but he can't have any more chickens."
"Ah!" says the hawk, "you talk very bravely; but, if I were let out of this cage, you would not stare at me much longer."
The fowls walk slowly away without saying more. But the pert young sparrow bristles up, and dares the hawk to come out and fight him. It is very easy to be brave when there is no danger.
CONTENTMENT.
And the daisy has lifted her shining head;
When birds are still in the brooding nest,—
Of all the seasons summer is best.
When the golden-rod's torches shine,—
And the purple grapes drop ripe from the vine;
When the reddening maples light up the way,
There is nothing so good as an autumn day.
When the hills are white with snow,
And only the frostflowers dare to blow;
When sleigh-bells chime from far and near,—
Winter's the best time of all the year.
When the wild brooks begin to leap,
And out of the earth the mosses creep;
When swallows twitter, and robins call,—
Spring is the very best time of all.
THE BROOK.
In a mountain,
Drops of water ran,
Trickling through the grasses
So our brook began.
Slow it started;
Soon it darted,
Cool and clear and free,
Rippling over pebbles,
Hurrying to the sea.
Came a-playing
On its pretty banks:
Glad, our little brooklet
Sparkled up its thanks.
Blossoms floating,
Mimic boating,
Fishes darting past,—
Swift and strong and happy,
Widening very fast,
Bubbling, singing,
Rushing, ringing,
Flecked with shade and sun,
Soon our pretty brooklet
To the sea has run.
Ann has a large black cat, of which she is very fond. See how she clasps it in her arms! She pets it and hugs it from morning till night. I think the cat loves Ann too; for it does not even try to scratch her.
But here is a better pet than a cat. It is a dear little babe in its nurse's arms. The nurse is taking it out for a walk. She loves it dearly, and see how lovingly it clings to her! Love wins love, you know.
BLUEBERRYING.
'Tis summer's hottest weather;
But Dick and Tom start bravely forth
For blueberries together.
Their tin pails glitter in the light,
The dippers in them rattle,
As up the long green lane they go,
Among the browsing cattle.
Close underneath the pasture fence
They find some scattered bushes:
"There is some better place beyond,"
Says Dick, and on he pushes,
Through tangled brake, o'er stumbling stones,
And up some steep black ledges,
Where thick the blueberry-bushes grow
Along the rocky edges.
"But these are very dry and small,"
Says Tommy: "I would rather
Look round and find some better place,
And larger berries gather."
Down the sharp rocks, across the brook,
And through a bog, they ramble:
They find some berries, big and blue,
Outpeering from a bramble.
"These dreadful running blackberry-vines!"
Says Dick: "they are so prickly!
I will not stop; some better place
We surely shall find quickly."
Through the long field they wandering stray,
In the hot sunshine going:
"Beneath the wood-lot trees," says Tom,
"There must be nice ones growing."
And so they find them thick and ripe;
But, from among them darting,
A hissing adder lifts its head,
And, suddenly upstarting,
The frightened boys drop both their pails,
The berries from them spilling.
"Let's hurry home," says Tom. Says Dick,
"I'm sure that I am willing."
So back they come with tattered clothes,
Scratched, sunburnt, soiled, and tired;
"To go again," says pouting Tom,
"I never could be hired."
"Oh, dear! oh, dear! oh, dear!" cries Dick,
A doleful little fretter,
"We've lost each good place we have had,
By looking for a better!"
THE WOUNDED LAMB.
ARLY one bright morning, three little girls who were spending the summer on their uncle's farm went out to gather wild flowers in the woods not far from the house. Just as they came to the edge of the wood, they heard the faint bleating of a lamb.
They listened, keeping very still, but could not make out where the sound came from. Then Mary, the eldest of the three, said, "Let us each go a different way, and hunt till we find the poor little thing."
They did so; and in a few minutes, Lulu the youngest called to the others, "I've found it! I've found it! Come, Mollie and Bessie, come quick and help me; for the dear little lamb is hurt, and I'm afraid it will die."
You may be sure that they all ran quickly, and it was well that they did; for the lamb had broken its leg, and could not have lived much longer if some one had not taken care of it. They found Lulu trying to help the poor creature; but she could do little except to soothe it.
Just then Bessie looked up, and saw the farmer not far off. She called loudly to him. He came at once, took the lamb tenderly in his arms, carried it home, laid it on a soft bed, and gave it some warm milk.
Very soon the lamb began to revive, much to the delight of the children; and little Lulu would hardly leave its side all that day.
With such kind care the lamb got well fast. It soon became a great pet with all the little girls, though their uncle said, that, as Lulu had found it, she should give it a name, and call it hers.
For some time she was quite puzzled to know what to call it; but one day, when Bessie was stroking it, she said, "Why lambie, your fleece is as fine and soft as floss!"
"Oh, now I know what to call this pet," said Lulu, "I'll call it Flossy," and it went by that name all summer.
The next winter, when their uncle came to see them in the city, the children inquired for their little pet, Flossy.
"Flossy is a big sheep now," he said; "but I think she remembers you, for when I go among the flock, she always comes and rubs her nose against me, and looks up, as much as to say, 'Where are those three girls that used to play with me last summer?'"
LISA.
ISA was a little German girl who lived in a village on the seacoast. Her father was a fisherman, and sometimes he would take her with him on pleasant days when he went in his boat.
They would start in the morning, and after sailing about, and catching a good load of fish, would come home at noon to the nice dinner which Lisa's elder sister had prepared
One day Lisa was alone in the house. Her sister had gone away to spend the day, and her father was out fishing. A heavy storm came up. It rocked the house, and blew the shutters to and fro; but Lisa never heeded it, for she was thinking of her father.
After the storm had ceased, she went to the door and looked out. An old fisherman was passing with his son. She asked him about her father. He pointed out the place where he had seen him before the storm, and said, "I fear that your father's boat has been driven upon the rocks, for it is no longer to be seen."
Without a moment's delay, Lisa tied on her hat, and hastened down to the shore. She got into a boat, and was pushing off, when an old sailor stopped her, and asked her where she was going.
"I am going in search of my father," said she.
"I will go with you, my good girl," said the sailor; and he sprang into the boat, and took the oars.
They rowed out to the rocks, for the sea had gone down. Poor Lisa's heart sank within her as she gazed upon that angry coast; for the first thing that caught her eyes was a fragment of a boat.
Yes, her father's boat had surely been wrecked. "Oh, my dear, dear father!" said Lisa, bursting into tears, "I shall never see him again."
But hark! There comes a shout, "Boat ahoy!" Lisa's heart beats wildly, for it is her father's voice. Quick as thought, the sailor pulls to the place where the sound came from. And there Lisa found her father clinging to a rock. What a joyful meeting there was! And how happy Lisa felt to think that she had gone so promptly to the rescue!
There were thankful hearts in the fisherman's cottage that night; and Lisa never forgot the good old sailor who had proved such a true friend in time of need.
THE SOLDIERS.
Five nimble soldiers marching to and fro.
First General Spry,
Next Colonel Try,
Then Major Tall,
And Sergeant Dapper,
And Corporal Small.
Five gallant soldiers all in fine array,
Five dashing soldiers meet them on the way.
First General Stout,
Next Colonel Look-out,
Then Major Trim,
And Sergeant Taper,
And Corporal Slim.
Ten gallant soldiers waiting our command,
Look, and you will see them,—five upon each hand.
VOL. XXX—NO. 3.
JENNY AND BENNY.
Was ever child so fair!
Had ever child such bright blue eyes,
Such lips, such golden hair!
Say, is there any baby
With this one to compare?
That's just as good as she:
It is my baby-brother,
Whose picture here you see.
THE PET FAWN.
NE day, Albert, who lived in a city, received a letter from his papa, who was absent in the country, which I think my little readers will enjoy also, and so I have got Albert's permission to give it to them. This is the letter:—
My dear little Boy,—In a lonely place, just at the edge of a wood, where I was detained, week before last, I came across a most delightful little pet. You could not guess in twenty guesses what it was, and so I will tell you at once.
It was a fawn about eight months old. I am sure if you could have seen him you would never have given papa a moment's rest till you had him as your own pet; and perhaps I shall have something to say to you about that by and by.
Well, this charming little pet was of a light yellowish-brown color, and over his whole body were white spots about the size of a dime.
Some boys had surprised him asleep, when he was about a week old, and had carefully taken him home with them. There he had been tended and made much of by the whole family, and so he had grown to have a genuine affection for his captors.
He was allowed full freedom to go about the woods as he chose, and never failed to return at night; and when called by name—for the boys had named him Dick—he would come bounding up as if he dearly loved to be petted.
It was amusing to see him eat milk. When the saucer was set before him and he commenced to lap the milk, he would beat a tattoo with one of his front feet. He never lapped his saucer of milk without, in this manner, beating the floor with his hoof.
Now, my little boy, I do wish that these boys might be induced to sell this fawn. If I could get him, don't you think a little boy that I could name would have a beautiful pet? But we will not expect too much, will we?
I want to tell my little readers that Albert has a fawn which he calls his own and pets and caresses. It has a blue ribbon around its neck with a little bell attached, and we all laugh to see it beat a tattoo with its little foot while it laps milk from a saucer. Albert says,
HOW THE SHEEP FOUND BO-PEEP.
Her eyes opened wide and wider;
For she found herself seated on the grass
With an old sheep standing beside her.
"Little Bo-peep," said the good old sheep,
"How glad I am that we've found you!
Here we are—rams and sheep and lambs—
All flocking up around you."
"You blessed sheep," said little Bo-peep,
"I've been worried to death about you."
"We've been searching for you," said the good old sheep:
"We wouldn't go home without you."
THE LITTLE FLOWER-GIRL.
ELEN GRAHAM was spending the winter with her mother in Nice. This is a charming place in the south of France, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and their home there was in a pretty villa.
One morning, as Helen was watering and trimming her plants at the open window,—for the air is warm and pleasant in Nice, even in winter,—she heard a soft voice calling just underneath, "Mademoiselle, achetez mes fleurs, s'il vous plait?" In English this means, "Please buy my flowers, miss?"
Helen looked down, and there stood a little barefooted, dark-eyed girl, a good deal smaller than herself, holding up a bunch of roses and violets. Her face was so sweet and smiling, that Helen could not refuse her: so she said in French, "How much are they, little girl?"
"Dix centimes seulement" ("only two cents"), she replied.
"Come round to the door, and I will buy them," said Helen.
The girl ran quickly to the door. When Helen learned from her that her mother was very poor, she gave her more than the price of her flowers; and the little girl's face fairly beamed with delight when she went away.
MABEL AND THE BUST.
Gazing, with wonder and delight,
Upon a marble bust. She cons it o'er,
With visage keen and bright,
Till cautiously upon the stone she lays
Her dimpled fingers white.
She scans the image with a rueful stare,
Then turning from it with a quivering lip,
The fickle baby wails in deep despair.
"What is it that disturbs my little pet?"
She cannot pull his hair!
FEEDING THE DUCKS.
PEAK for it if you want it," said little Johnny, holding out a piece of bread to the old duck.
She had just come in with her large family from a swim in the pond.
"Quack, quack!" said the duck, waddling up, and opening her great bill.
"Don't let the old duck swallow your finger, Johnny!" said Ellen.
Johnny dropped the bread. The greedy duck snatched it, and in less than half a minute she opened her great bill again, and quacked for more.
Meanwhile grandma had been throwing out meal to the ducklings. But one pert little duckling was not satisfied with that.
He lifted up his head, and fluttered his little bits of wings, and opened his mouth, and tried to quack, as much as to say,—
"I don't like meal and water. I want to have what ma has. Give me some too."
This made Ellen laugh: it was so like some children that she had seen!
"TIT FOR TAT."
Holds a conversation with a consequential frog.
"Little Tommy Tompkins," says that frog, says he,
"Yesterday I saw you fling a stone at me.
"I had my new green coat on: you nearly ruined that!
Little Tommy Tompkins, I believe in 'tit for tat.'"
"Please, I didn't mean to," cries Tommy in affright,
"I know—boo-hoo—'twas wrong. I know it wasn't right."
"Little Tommy Tompkins," the dreadful frog replies,
"Dry your tears, and stop your noise, and from that log arise.
"The sport of being stoned you shall have a chance to see;
I hope it will be fun for you; 'twill be jolly fun for me."
Then on a sudden Tommy goes tumbling with a splash
Down to the muddy water, while froggie makes a dash,
And, sitting on the log, oh many a stone throws
Hitting wretched little Tommy with considerable glee.
"Hold on!" cries Tommy, vainly. "You're nothing but a frog!"
Comes the answer, as the stones fly faster from the log.
Was ever boy so wretched! was ever frog so glad!
I really don't know what would have happened to the lad.
But by chance a wandering bee stung young Tommy on the nose,
And, waking from a fearful dream, up from that log he rose.