Illustration: Hen and chicks.]

There was once a big, white hen that had twelve little chickens. They were
very small, and the old hen took good care of them. She found food for
them in the daytime, and at night kept them under her wings.

One day, this old hen took her chickens down to a small brook. She thought
the air from the water would do them good.

When they got to the brook, they walked on the bank a little while. It was
very pretty on the other side of the brook, and the old hen thought she
would take her children over there.

There was a large stone in the brook: she thought it would be easy for
them to jump to that stone, and from it to the other side.

So she jumped to the stone, and told the children to come after her. For
the first time, she found that they would not obey her.

She flapped her wings, and cried, "Come here, all of you! Jump upon this
stone, as I did. We can then jump to the other side. Come now!"

"O mother! we can't, we can't, we can't!" said all the little chickens.

"Yes you can, if you try," said the old hen. "Just flap your wings, as I
did, and you can jump over."

"I am flapping my wings," said Chippy, who stood by himself; "but I can't
jump any better than I could before."

LESSON LXII.

chirped nev'er in deed' slow'ly re'ally brood

be gan' did n't use door bite piece

[Illustration: Hen with chicks.]

"I never saw such children," said the old hen. "You don't try at all."

"We can't jump so far, mother. Indeed we can't, we can't!" chirped the
little chickens.

"Well," said the old hen, "I must give it up." So she jumped back to the
bank, and walked slowly home with her brood.

"I think mother asked too much of us," said one little chicken to the
others.

"Well, I tried," said Chippy.

"We didn't," said the others; "it was of no use to try."

When they got home, the old hen began to look about for something to eat.
She soon found, near the back door, a piece of bread.

So she called the chickens, and they all ran up to her, each one trying to
get a bite at the piece of bread.

"No, no!" said the old hen. "This bread is for Chippy. He is the only one
of my children that really tried to jump to the stone."

LESSON LXIII.

last slates write waste neat taken

clean learn read'er par'ents sec'ond

[Illustration: Teacher with four students in classroom.]

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