its child, may still live. Therefore, the mother-tree looks upon her seed as her greatest treasure, and has made for it a beautiful casket.

Let us pull a peach open. The peach is only the cover of the casket, and moreover this casket is locked; so if I should show you the inside we would have to break the pretty box.

Here are apples, also, lying at our feet. We will cut one, for it holds the apple tree's treasure. First comes the skin, rosy and yellow, a wrapping for the outside. Next we come to the flesh of the apple, and far in the middle the horny shells, covering the brown, shiny seeds.

The pea- and bean-plants have long boxes, satin-lined and water-proof, for their treasures.

The poppy has a deep, round box of delicate brown, with a pretty carved lid.

The tall milk-weed has treasures in a pale-green bag, which opens with a spring.

Roses have beautiful, round, red globes for their seeds, and so strong are they that even the winter winds and storms can not break them.

Go into the garden and woods and fields, and you need not look far before you see that every plant has its treasures and its treasure-boxes.

Definitions.

- Adapted from Charles Kingsley.

- Casket, a small box in which jewels or other precious things are kept. Petals, the colored leaves of the corolla of the flower.

Spell: gloves, peach, center, treasures, precious, delicate, figure, image, petals, apple, grassy, middle.

Review Vowel Drill, page 8.

Read, if accessible, "A Peep into One of God's Storehouses," in "The Stories Mother Nature Told." -Jane Andrews.

An Indian family lived on the seashore. They had two sons, who caught fish for their food.

It came to pass one spring that it was so stormy that they could not fish. The wind blew night and day for weeks, and the waves were like dancing hills.

The Indian family were about to die of hunger. One day the father told his sons to walk along the shore and see if any fish had been thrown on the beach by the waves.

The eldest son walked far along the beach toward the north.

As he went the

wind blew more and more roughly, until he could hardly stand.

It seemed to come from a point of land ahead of him. So he made up his

mind to go there and find out what made the wind.

He soon saw, for on a high rock a little way out in the water sat the great windbird himself, flapping his wings to make the wind blow.

The brave Indian boy went right up to him, and said, "My grandfather, are you cold?"

The bird answered, "Nay, nay, my son!"

But the boy said, "I know you must be chilly, grandfather. Let me carry you on my back to the shore."

So he carried the great bird from one slippery, weedy rock to another, up and down, now jumping and now wading through the pools. But at the last rock he slipped and fell, on purpose, and so broke one of the wind-bird's wings.

Then he gently set and tied up the great bird's broken wing.

"Dear grandfather," said he, "you must keep very quiet and not move your wing until it is quite well. I will bring you food every day. You shall want nothing." So the wind - bird sat very quiet and

there was no wind in all the world, and the sea was still.

The Indians caught thousands of fish. They never before had caught so many. But after awhile a green scum came on the sea. The Indians could no longer see down into the water to spear the fish.

Then the wise boy, who had carefully fed the wind-bird every day, said, “Grandfather, let me see your wing! Ah! it is much better; move it a little if you can."

So the wind-bird gave a little flap, and lo! a ripple ran over the still sea. Then he lightly waved his wings and the scum was blown away and all was well.

Ever after this the Indians had the wind-bird for a friend, and they could have the sea smooth or rough, just as they wished.

Definitions. Ripple, a little, curling wave.

Spell beach, north, point, scum, ripple, purpose, spear, caught, walk, rough, chilly, slipping, wading, quiet, thousand, longer, wing.

Was the Indian boy honest? In what way did he deceive the wind - bird? What is now known about the causes of the wind? Mention some ways in which men now control the wind, or compel it to do their work for them?

Read "Algonquin Legends of New England."- Chas. G. Leland.