e a letter like that. Take a
stick and try, every one of you. Look sharp, and make it just like the
one I've made."

Thereupon, there was a great searching for sticks, and when all the
little ones had been supplied, there was a great scratching and
marking in the sand. To Noll's great delight, the result was two or
three tolerable A's, which were allowed to stand, and the rest were
brushed away. Then a new attempt at making the wonderful symbol
ensued, and added another to the successful list, and so the
letter-making was kept up till all the pupils had succeeded in making
a tolerably faithful representation of the letter. Noll began to take
heart. What the children cared nothing for, when seen in the book,
they were apparently delighted to draw on the sand, and soon learned
to give the proper pronunciation of the character. The night came on
apace, and Noll began to perceive that it was time for him to be on
his homeward way.

"Remember," he said to his pupils, who were scratching A's all about
the door, "you're not to forget this while I'm gone. To-morrow
afternoon I'll come again, and then I shall want to see you make it
over, and you are to have a new letter, besides. Will you all be
here?"

"Yes! yes!" one after another promised; and, once more bidding them
remember, Noll walked away,--the children still making the mysterious
character along the beach, and keeping it up till darkness came over
sea and land.

"Only one letter!" Noll said to himself, as he hurried homeward. "Why,
that's not a tenth of what I meant to do this afternoon! What dull
wits they've got! and will they ever, ever learn the whole alphabet?"
The prospect did not seem very encouraging, and he was obliged to
confess himself disappointed with the result of the first day's
lesson. "However, one can't tell much by the first afternoon," he
thought. "Perhaps they'll be quicker and brighter when we're better
acquainted."

The next afternoon he arrived at Dirk's house at the appointed time,
and found not ten, but twelve awaiting him, sticks in hand, and all
eager for the lesson to commence. Noll could not refrain from laughing
at the sight which the sand directly in front of the house presented,
covered as it was with A's of all shapes and sizes. It looked much as
if a great bird, with a peculiarly-constructed foot, had been walking
there. He did not need to be assured that his pupils had all
remembered yesterday's lesson, and proceede