, all wet and
dripping, in Jane's arms.

How happy the little girl was to get her darling safe back again! And
how thankful she was to Tom, for coming to the rescue so bravely! Anna
Maria soon got over the effects of her bath: she did not even catch
cold.

But I hope that both Jane and Susan will learn a lesson from her mishap,
and not go so near the edge of the wharf another time.

UNCLE SAM.

THE YOUNG SHEEP-OWNER.

SEVERAL years ago, on the Island of Nantucket, lived a little boy named
Frank Simmons. His grandfather, with whom he was a great favorite, owned
about two hundred sheep. Many other persons on the island owned sheep at
that time; and there was a broad plain of open ground, over which all
the flocks roamed in common.

Every year, in the month of June, all the sheep were driven into a large
enclosure near a pond, in which they were washed until their wool was
white and clean. This was the preparation for shearing, or taking off
their heavy coats of wool.

Each separate flock was marked by a little cut made in the ears. The
ears of one flock, for instance, were clipped at the ends; of another,
notched at the sides; of another, marked by a slit.

[Illustration]

This last was the mark which Frank looked for when he went with his
grandfather to catch his sheep. Frank thought it was cruel to cut the
ears so; but, when his grandfather told him it was the only way by which
each owner could know his own sheep, he was satisfied.

Whenever he caught one, he would lead it along to his grandfather's pen,
where a man was waiting to take it on his back, and carry it into the
pond. After being washed, the sheep were left to find their own way to
the shore, which they did very quickly.

It took two days to wash all the sheep on the island. The washing was
finished on Saturday. The sheep were allowed to rest and dry themselves
on Sunday; and on Monday morning, bright and early, Frank was ready to
start with his grandfather to catch the sheep for the shearing.

The shearing occupied two days more; and, after their heavy coats were
off, the sheep would feel so smart, that they would frisk about like
young lambs; and some of them would jump five or six feet up in the air.

During all this time, their poor little lambs had been kept apart by
themselves. They must have felt lonely enough without their mothers;
but, as soon as the shearing was over, all th