t our feathers shall be all clean.

_Pip_.--Another good idea! Hunger sharpens your wits, cousin.

_Pop_.--It sharpens my appetite: I know that.

_Pip_.--Come on, then! Let us see who will fly the faster to the brook.
[_They fly off_.]

UNCLE CHARLES

[Illustration: Birds Drinking]

WHAT CAME OF A DIRTY FACE.

[Illustration: What Came of a Dirty Face.]

A little boy I used to know,
Who went to a district school.
He learned to read, and he learned to write,
And to whisper against the rule.
What fun it was with his marbles to play
When the teacher was busy, and looking away!

This little boy, one day, was sent
A pail of water to bring,
And like Jack and Jill away he ran,
And back he came with a swing.
But, just as he entered the schoolroom door,
Both he and the water went down on the floor.

Oh, then, what a noise there was in the room!
The school-ma'am fetched a mop;
But, the more she tried the water to check,
The more it wouldn't stop.
There never was such water to run:
It seemed, with the children, to like the fun.

What was it that made the little boy fall,
And show such a lack of grace?
I'll tell you all, for I happen to know:
It was only a dirty face!
He looked at himself in the water-pail,
And that made the little boy's footstep fail.

WATERING THE FLOWERS.

"Why is it that flowers always grow so nicely for Mary? I often plant
seeds; but nothing comes from them. They won't grow for me. But blossoms
seem to spring right up wherever she goes. They must have a particular
liking for her."

That's what Master Tom said, one day, as he saw Mary watering the
flowers.

Well, it is no wonder, Tom, if flowers do have a liking for such a
lovable little girl. There's nothing so very strange about that. How
could they help liking her?

[Illustration: Watering the Flowers.]

But, after all, perhaps the secret of the matter is, that Mary loves the
flowers, and never forgets to take care of them. She looks after them
every day, and not by fits and starts, as some people do.

So she has good luck with her flowers, and is always able to make up a
nice bouquet. And she not only enjoys the flowers herself, but, what is
better still, she takes delight in having others enjoy them with her.

She does not forget to send a liberal share to the Flower Mission; and
many a poor suf