hes the
ground, and carries it off.

8. The poor fish hawk, with a loud cry, timidly flies away. He must go
again to the water and catch another fish for his dinner.

9. Thus you see, that the eagle is a robber. He robs fishhawks, whose only
mode of getting a living is by catching fish.

LESSON XLII.

leaf task twice sigh'ing hol'i days

gay twig meant stopped dif'fer ent

puff edge mat'ter au'tumn hun'dreds

lead grew rus'tled Oc to'ber trem'bling

[Illustration: Several large trees; fence in foreground.]

WHAT THE LEAF SAID.

1. Once or twice a little leaf was heard to cry and sigh, as leaves often
do, when a gentle wind is blowing. And the twig said, "What is the matter,
little leaf?"

2. "The wind," said the leaf, "just told me that one day it would pull me
off, and throw me on the ground to die."

3. The twig told it to the branch, and the branch told it to the tree.
When the tree heard it, it rustled all over, and sent word back to the
trembling leaf.

4. "Do not be afraid," it said; "hold on tight, and you shall not go off
till you are ready."

5. So the leaf stopped sighing, and went on singing and rustling. It grew
all the summer long till October. And when the bright days of autumn came,
the leaf saw all the leaves around growing very beautiful.

6. Some were yellow, some were brown, and many were striped with different
colors. Then the leaf asked the tree what this meant.

7. The tree said, "All these leaves are getting ready to fly away, and
they have put on these colors because of their joy."

8. Then the little leaf began to want to go, and grew very beautiful in
thinking of it. When it was gay in colors, it saw that the branches of the
tree had no bright colors on them.

9. So the leaf said, "O branch! why are you lead- colored while we are all
beautiful and golden?"

10. "We must keep on our working clothes," said the tree, "for our work is
not yet done; but your clothes are for holidays, because your task is now
over."

11. Just then a little puff of wind came, and the leaf let go without
thinking, and the wind took it up and turned it over and over.

12. Then it fell gently down under the edge of the fence, among hundreds
of leaves, and has never waked to tell us what it dreamed about.

LESSON XLIII.

gold lambs fond'ly crick'et whirl'ing

fields leaves flee'cy fare'well c