ration]

A VERY shy bird
Is the heron, my dear;
It will run fast away,
If you come very near:
It has a sharp bill,
A neck slender and long;
It is fond of small fish,
And goes where they throng.
It builds a snug nest
On some very high tree,
And there lays its eggs,
Where the boys cannot see.
Woods marshy and wet,
It likes to frequent;
For there it finds food,
And there lives content.
No sportsmen with guns
Come often to kill:
And when they appear
The heron keeps still;
It keeps still and hides
On a lofty bough near,
Till the fowler says, "Well,
I can find no birds here."
Then he and his dogs
Go off in the dumps,
And the heron flies down
To the bushes and stumps;
There flaps its big wings,
Right glad to have cheated
The life-seeking foes,
Who now have retreated.

IDA FAY.

EMMA AND THE BOOK.

[Illustration]

ONE day little Emma said to herself, "It is about time that I knew how
to read. I wonder if I could read that big book on the table." So she
went to the table, and tried to reach the book; but it was too high up.

Now, Emma had a brother Fred, who was older than she was. Fred was
always very kind to Emma, and now he said, "That is not such a book as
you would like, but if you will be quiet, I will read you a story out
of my own book."

It was a pretty little story that he read; and Emma stood very still,
and listened to every word. "Now," said she, "will you please let me
have the book, Fred; for my dolly likes stories too, and I want to read
to her." So Fred gave her the book, and she sat down and read to her
doll.

WILHELMINA GRANT.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

THE BEAR AND HER CUBS.

"ARE there any people besides Esquimaux in the snow-country?" asked
Harry, one day.

"Not many," said I. "There is a small Danish settlement in Greenland;
but, with that exception, the Esquimaux and the bears have the country
pretty much to themselves."

"Tell me about the bears," said Harry. "I saw a bear last summer at the
White mountain