3. It is May! it is May! And the slenderest spray Holds up a few leaves to the ripening ray ; 4. For, O! it is May! it is May! It is May! it is May! And the flowers obey The beams which alone are more bright than they ; Up they spring at the touch of the sun, And opening their sweet eyes, one by one, In a language of beauty they seem all to say— Chilled and enchained beneath winter's sway, 1. Out in the country, close by the road, stands a handsome house. Before it there is a garden with flowers, and a painted railing; and just outside grew a little daisy. The sun shone upon it as warmly and kindly as upon the splendid flowers in the garden, and so it grew from hour to hour, till one morning it stood fully unfolded, with its pure white petals in a ring round the little yellow sun in the middle. 2. The daisy did not at all think that it was looked upon as a poor despised flower; no, it was very contented, turned its face to the warm sun, and listened to the lark singing high in the air. 3. Inside the railing stood a great many stiff, genteel flowers: the less fragrance they had, the prouder they were of their fine dress. The peonies blew themselves up, in order to be larger than the rose. The tulips had the most beautiful colours, and therefore they held themselves up very straight, that people might have a good sight of them. 4. They never looked at the little daisy outside; but the daisy looked all the more at them, and thought within itself: "How beautiful they are! Certainly the lark will come down and pay them a visit. How glad I am that I am so near, for then I shall see that fine musician too!" 5. Just at that moment down flew the lark, but not to the peonies and tulips-oh, no-down into the grass beside the poor daisy, which was so delighted that it did not know what to think. The bird danced round it, and sang: "How soft the grass is; and see, what a lovely little flower, with a golden heart and a silvery white dress!" Nobody can imagine how happy the little daisy was. The lark kissed it with its bill, sang to it, and then flew up to the blue sky again. 6. Just then a little girl came into the garden with a sharp pair of scissors, and went to the tulips, which she snipped off one after the other. "Oh, dear!" sighed the daisy, "it is all over with them now." The girl went away with the tulips. The daisy was glad that its head had not been snipped off, and thankfully folding its petals, as the sun was setting, fell asleep, dreaming the whole night about the sun and the lark. 7. Next morning, as the flower was stretching out its white petals, like so many little arms, to the air and light, it recognized the bird's voice, but the voice was very mournful now. The poor lark had indeed good reason for singing a sad song, for it had been taken prisoner, and put into a cage. 8. The little daisy wished very much to help its friend the lark; but how was it to manage that? 9. Yes, it was a difficult affair; the flower quite forgot how beautiful everything was all around it, and how warmly the sun shone, and could think of nothing but the captive bird. 10. Two little boys now came out of the garden, one of them with a knife in his hand; and they came directly towards the daisy, which could not conceive what they meant. 11. “Here is a beautiful piece of turf for the lark," said the boy with the knife; and immediately began to cut out a square turf, with the daisy exactly in the middle of it. 12. "Tear the flower off," said the other boy; and then the daisy began to tremble for fear. To be torn off was to lose its life, and it was so anxious to live, that it might come with the turf into the cage of the captive lark. "No; let it stay," said the first boy; "it makes the turf so pretty." So the daisy was spared, and placed with the turf in the cage of the prisoner. 13. But the poor bird lamented loudly over its lost freedom, and flapped with its wings against the wires of the cage; and the little daisy could not speak, could not say a word of comfort, willing as it was to do so. 14. "There is no water here," said the imprisoned lark; "they have forgotten to give me a drop of water to drink. My throat is dry and burning. Ah! I must die.” Then it bored its bill into the cool turf to refresh itself a little, and its eyes fell upon the daisy. The bird nodded to the flower, kissed it with its bill, and said, "Poor little flower, you will grow dry and wither away here too. They have given me only you, and your little spot of green grass, instead of the whole world that I had outside. Ah! you only remind me how much I have lost!" "Oh, if I could only comfort him!" thought the daisy. 15. Evening came, but still no one brought the poor bird a drop of water. It stretched its pretty wings, and shook them in a quivering way that was painful to the daisy to see; its song was now a mournful chirp, its little head bent over the flower, and the bird's heart broke for want and longing. The flower could not now, as on the evening before, fold its petals together and sleep; it drooped sickly and sadly towards the ground. 16. The boys did not come till the next morning, and when they saw the bird dead they shed many tears, and dug it a neat little grave, which they decked with leaves and flowers. They had put the dead bird into a pretty red box, for they were resolved to give it a fine burial. Poor lark! while he lived and sang, they forgot him, let him sit in his cage and suffer thirst; but now when he is dead, they give him tears and ornaments. 17. The turf, with the daisy in the middle of it, was thrown into the dusty road, and nobody thought of the one that had felt most pity for the poor bird, and had been most anxious to comfort it. Hans Andersen. QUESTIONS.-Where was the daisy growing? What are the petals of a flower? What colour were the petals of the daisy? What other flowers were growing in the garden? What did the daisy think within herself? Where did the lark rest when it flew down to the ground? Relate the lark's song. What flowers did the little girl cut when she went into the garden? Next morning, in what manner did the lark sing? Why? What did the two little boys dig up in the garden? Where did they put it? What did they forget to give the lark? What became of the lark and the daisy? LESSON LVII. MY GOOD RIGHT HAND. com-plain', murmur ad-vis'-ers, counsellors cour'-age, strength re-viv'-ed, recovered ac-quaint'-ance, persons we know un-der-stand', known 1. I fell into grief and began to complain; I looked for a friend, but I sought him in vain; |