| 1 2 |  |
|
I. The Lark And Its Young Ones A Hindu Fable By P. V. Ramaswami Raju (Adapted) A child went up to a lark and said: ``Good lark, have you any young ones?'' ``Yes, child, I have,'' said the mother lark, ``and they are very pretty ones, indeed.'' Then she pointed to the little birds and said: ``This is Fair Wing, that is Tiny Bill, and that other is Bright Eyes.'' ``At home, we are three,'' said the child, ``myself and two sisters. Mother says that we are pretty children, and she loves us.'' To this the little larks replied: ``Oh, yes, OUR mother is fond of us, too.'' ``Good mother lark,'' said the child, ``will you let Tiny Bill go home with me and play?'' Before the mother lark could reply, Bright Eyes said: ``Yes, if you will send your little sister to play with us in our nest.'' ``Oh, she will be so sorry to leave home,'' said the child; ``she could not come away from our mother.'' ``Tiny Bill will be so sorry to leave our nest,'' answered Bright Eyes, ``and he will not go away from OUR mother.'' Then the child ran away to her mother, saying: ``Ah, every one is fond of home!'' II. Cornelia's Jewels By James Baldwin[3] [3] From Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Copyright, 1896, by American Book Company. It was a bright morning in the old city of Rome many hundred years ago. In a vine-covered summer- house in a beautiful garden, two boys were standing. They were looking at their mother and her friend, who were walking among the flowers and trees. ``Did you ever see so handsome a lady as our mother's friend?'' asked the younger boy, holding his tall brother's hand. ``She looks like a queen.'' ``Yet she is not so beautiful as our mother,'' said the elder boy. ``She has a fine dress, it is true; but her face is not noble and kind. It is our mother who is like a queen.'' ``That is true,'' said the other. ``There is no woman in Rome so much like a queen as our own dear mother.'' Soon Cornelia, their mother, came down the walk to speak with them. She was simply dressed in a plain, white robe. Her arms and feet were bare, as was the custom in those days; and no rings or chains glittered about her hands and neck. For her only crown, long braids of soft brown hair were coiled about her head; and a tender smile lit up her noble face as she looked into her sons' proud eyes. ``Boys,'' she said, ``I have something to tell you.'' They bowed before her, as Roman lads were taught to do, and said: ``What is it, mother?'' ``You are to dine with us to-day, here in the garden; and then our friend is going to show us that wonderful casket of jewels of which you have heard so much.'' The brothers looked shyly at their mother's friend. Was it possible that she had still other rings besides those on her fingers? Could she have other gems besides those which sparkled in the chains about her neck? When the simple outdoor meal was over, a servant brought the casket from the house. The lady opened it. Ah, how those jewels dazzled the eyes of the wondering boys! There were ropes of pearls, white as milk, and smooth as satin; heaps of shining rubies, red as the glowing coals; sapphires as blue as the sky that summer day; and diamonds that flashed and sparkled like the sunlight. The brothers looked long at the gems. ``Ah!'' whispered the younger; ``if our mother could only have such beautiful things!'' At last, however, the casket was closed and carried carefully away. ``Is it true, Cornelia, that you have no jewels?'' asked her friend. ``Is it true, as I have heard it whispered, that you are poor?'' ``No, I am not poor,'' answered Cornelia, and as she spoke she drew her two boys to her side; ``for here are my jewels. They are worth more than all your gems.'' The boys never forgot their mother's pride and love and care; and in after years, when they had become great men in Rome, they often thought of this scene in the garden. And the world still likes to hear the story of Cornelia's jewels. III. Queen Margaret And The Robbers By Albert F. Blaisdell (Adapted) One day when roses were in bloom, two noblemen came to angry words in the Temple Gardens, by the side of the river Thames. In the midst of their quarrel one of them plucked a white rose from a bush, and, turning to those who were near him, said:-- ``He who will stand by me in this quarrel, let him pluck a white rose with me, and wear it in his hat.'' Then the other gentleman tore a red rose from another bush, and said:-- ``Let him who will stand by me pluck a red rose, and wear it as his badge.'' Now this quarrel led to a great civil war, which was called ``The War of the Roses,'' for every soldier wore a white or red rose in his helmet to show to which side he belonged. The leaders of the ``Red Rose'' sided with King Henry the Sixth and his wife, Queen Margaret, who were fighting for the English throne. Many great battles were fought, and wicked deeds were done in those dreadful times. In a battle at a place called Hexham, the king's party was beaten, and Queen Margaret and her little son, the Prince of Wales, had to flee for their lives. They had not gone far before they met a band of robbers, who stopped the queen and stole all her rich jewels, and, holding a drawn sword over her head, threatened to take her life and that of her child. The poor queen, overcome by terror, fell upon her knees and begged them to spare her only son, the little prince. But the robbers, turning from her, began to fight among themselves as to how they should divide the plunder, and, drawing their weapons, they attacked one another. When the queen saw what was happening she sprang to her feet, and, taking the prince by the hand, made haste to escape. There was a thick wood close by, and the queen plunged into it, but she was sorely afraid and trembled in every limb, for she knew that this wood was the hiding-place of robbers and outlaws. Every tree seemed to her excited fancy to be an armed man waiting to kill her and her little son. On and on she went through the dark wood, this way and that, seeking some place of shelter, but not knowing where she was going. At last she saw by the light of the moon a tall, fierce- looking man step out from behind a tree. He came directly toward her, and she knew by his dress that he was an outlaw. But thinking that he might have children of his own, she determined to throw herself and her son upon his mercy. When he came near she addressed him in a calm voice and with a stately manner. ``Friend,'' said she, ``I am the queen. Kill me if thou wilt, but spare my son, thy prince. Take him, I will trust him to thee. Keep him safe from those that seek his life, and God will have pity on thee for all thy sins.'' The words of the queen moved the heart of the outlaw. He told her that he had once fought on her side, and was now hiding from the soldiers of the ``White Rose.'' He then lifted the little prince in his arms, and, bidding the queen follow, led the way to a cave in the rocks. There he gave them food and shelter, and kept them safe for two days, when the queen's friends and attendants, discovering their hiding-place, came and took them far away. If you ever go to Hexham Forest, you may see this robber's cave. It is on the bank of a little stream that flows at the foot of a hill, and to this day the people call it ``Queen Margaret's Cave.'' IV. The Revenge Of Coriolanus By Charles Morris (Adapted) Caius Marcius was a noble Roman youth, who fought valiantly, when but seventeen years of age, in the battle of Lake Regillus, and was there crowned with an oaken wreath, the Roman reward for saving the life of a fellow soldier. This he showed with joy to his mother, Volumnia, whom he loved exceedingly, it being his greatest pleasure to receive praise from her lips.
|
||
|
| 1 2 | |