any sheaves together, and make a shock.

There is a poor old woman picking up some ears of corn; and a poor
little girl with her. They are gleaning. Give them your handful, Harry.
Take it, poor woman, it will help to make you a loaf.

Look, there are black clouds. How fast they move along! Now they have
hid the sun. There is a little bit of blue sky still. Now it is all
covered with black clouds. It is very dark, like night. It will rain
soon. Now it begins. What large drops! The ducks are very glad, but the
little birds are not glad; they go and shelter themselves under the
trees. Now the rain is over. It was only a shower. Now the flowers smell
sweet, and the sun shines, and the little birds sing again, and it is
not so hot as it was before it rained.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

SEPTEMBER.

Hark! somebody is letting off a gun! They are shooting the poor birds.
Here is a bird dropped down just at your feet. It is all bloody. Poor
thing! how it flutters! Its wing is broken. It cannot fly any further.
It is going to die. What bird is it? It is a partridge. Are you not
sorry, Harry? It was alive a little while ago.

Bring the ladder, and set it against the tree. Now bring a basket. We
must gather apples. No, you cannot go up the ladder; you must have a
little basket, and pick up apples under the tree. Shake the tree. Down
they come. How many have you got? We will have an apple-dumpling. Come,
you must help to carry the apples into the apple-chamber. Apples make
cyder. You shall have some baked pears and bread for supper, and some
cyder. Are these apples? No, they are quinces; they will make marmalade.
Do not be in such haste, little boy; you shall have some cyder directly.
You must not drink much.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The leaves are falling off the trees now, and the flowers are all gone.
No, here is an African marigold, and a China-aster, and a Michaelmas
daisy. And here are a few roses left.

Will you have any nuts? Fetch the nut-crackers. Peel this walnut. I will
make you a little boat of the walnut-shell, and you can swim it in a
pan. We must get the grapes, or else the birds will eat them all. Here
is a bunch of black grapes. Here is a bunch of white ones. Which will
you have? Grapes make wine.

What bird have you got there? It is dead, but it is very pretty. It has
a scarlet eye, and red, and green, and purple feathers. It is very
large. It is a pheasant. He is very good to e