My mother, I know,
Would sorrow so,
Should I be stolen away;
So I'll speak to the birds
In my softest words,
Nor hurt them in my play.
And when they can fly
In the bright blue sky,
They'll warble a song to me;
And then if I'm sad
It will make me glad
To think they are happy and free.
LYDIA MARIA CHILD
[Illustration]
WHY THE BEAR'S TAIL IS SHORT
Did you ever go to a circus where there was a bear in a cage?
Did you notice how short his tail was?
I will tell you how the bear's tail came to be short.
One very cold day in winter, a fox saw some men taking home a load of
fish.
The fox jumped upon the wagon while the men were not looking.
He threw off some of the best fish until he had enough for his dinner.
Then Mr. Fox jumped from the wagon and began to eat the fish.
While he was eating the fish, Mr. Bear came along.
"Good morning," said Mr. Bear, "you have had good luck fishing to-day.
Those are very fine fish. How did you catch them?"
"They are fine fish," said Mr. Fox.
"If you will go fishing with me to-night, I will show you how to catch
even better fish than these."
"I will go with you gladly," said the bear. "I will bring my hook and
line too.
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