I caught him, and fed him, and warm'd in my breast;

And he is as nimble and gay as the rest.

Look, look! how he flutters! he'll slip from my hold.

Ah rogue! you've forgotten both hunger and cold. But indeed 'tis in vain; for I shan't set you free, For all your whole life, you my prisoner shall be. Well housed and well fed, in your cage you shall sing,

And make our dull winter as gay as the spring, But, stay! sure 'tis cruel! with wings made to

soar,

To be shut up in prison, and never fly more.

And I, who so often have long'd for a flight, Shall I keep you prisoner? mama! is it right? No; come, pretty robin, I must e'en set you free; your whistle though sweet would sound sadly

For

to me.

From Original Poems.

LESSON VI.

THE YARD.

Now you have read those pretty poems, and read them pretty well, we will go out into the yard, as I said we would. Mary, take a little barley and some grits in your apron for the

D

poultry. Look, how the fowls come flying down from their perches! The Cock marches at the head of them. How stately he struts along! What beautiful crimson and black feathers he has in his wings, and tail, and all over his body. Do you observe this fine red comb on his head, and his white ivory bill? See, he claps his wings; and now he crows aloud. He has a voice like a trumpet. His feet are armed with sharp spurs. He is very brave, and will fight in defence of his hens and their chickens. He is so beautiful, that if he were brought from some distant country, and cost a great deal of money, he would be highly valued and admired. But because we see such birds every day, we think little of them. So it is with a great many other things. Because they are common, their beauty and usefulness are not observed. It is too much so with even the wonders of God's power, and the gifts of his goodness. Because day after day, and night after night, we see the light, the green grass, the blue sky, the sun, moon, and stars; and have our food and clothes, and a great many other good things, we forget their benefit to us, we neglect and overlook them. That is not right.

Here comes the speckled hen with her fine brood of chickens! See how careful she is of them! Throw down a few grains of barley, Mary, and some grits. Look how she calls the chickens round her, and shows them the grits! She picks up the barley herself, because that is fit for her. The chickens take the grits, for they are smaller than the grains of barley, and better for them.

Hens sit three weeks on their eggs, before the little chickens come out of them; and, during all that time, they scarcely ever move off the nest; though at other times they are so active.

Ducks and geese sit for a month, and pigeons about a fortnight.

Do not try to catch the chickens, for the hen will fly at you, perhaps.

If any one goes near them, she ruffles up her feathers, and looks very angry.

How pretty those little chickens are! See, they are drinking some water out of that pan. They turn up their heads when they swallow, to let the water trickle down their throats. We do not do so, when we drink, because we have a muscle, or fleshy cord in our throats, which, by its motion, carries down the liquid we swallow.

Now they have done eating, they creep under their mother's wings, and she extends them so far, and puffs out her feathers so as to cover them all. It is God teaches them to run to her for shelter, and teaches her to cover and guard them. And God teaches all other animals to take care of their young, while they are too weak to take care of themselves; and when they are big enough to get their own living, then their parents turn them off, and care no longer about them; and know them no longer.

But it is not so with men and women. Mama and I shall continue to know and love you as long as we live, and I hope, that you will always love us. And we are to know and love one another after we shall go from this world to a better.

Look at those pretty pigeons flying about! See! some of them are turning over in the air, as if they would tumble to the ground. That is their play; and for that reason they are called tumblers. There are several kinds of pigeons. What beautiful colours are on the necks of those two perched on the tiles of the wash-house; purple and gold, and blue! Those white ones with tails standing up like the tails of hens, are called fan-tail pigeons.

Pigeons never lay more than two eggs at a time; and the young ones which come out of those two eggs, generally pass their lives together as a pair.

The ducks and geese are happy, swimming about in the pond. They are web-footed; that is, their claws are joined together by pieces of thick skin; and when they swim, they strike with those broad feet against the water, and so push themselves along. The water is so natural to them that they run into it, as soon as they come from the eggs; and are able to swim at once. The flesh of poultry, which is the common name given to fowls, ducks, and geese, is very nice and wholesome; but that is not their only use. Beds and pillows are stuffed with their feathers; and of the lower parts, or quills, of the feathers in the wings of the geese, pens are made. Do you see the great turkey.cock, marching before his ladies, who are waddling awkwardly along? Do not go too near him. See how he bristles up his feathers, and lets down that piece of flesh like a red rag over his bill; and raises his tail, and brushes the ground

with his wings, making a rustling noise! That is a sign that he is angry: and though he is, in reality, a coward, yet he will sometimes attack little children, and throw them down. The flesh of turkeys is very good, but their quills are too hard for making pens.

There are the pigs. John is giving them their breakfast. Hark, how they grunt: what a disagreeable noise! Look how eagerly they take their food; big and little, tumbling over one another. That is an image of gluttony, or great love of eating. Little boys and girls, if they talk much about eating and drinking, and are often thinking about what they shall have for breakfast, dinner, and supper, and eat too much when they have nice things, and eat in a hurry, are, then, too much like pigs.

The male is called a boar; the female, a sow. Sows have often a great many little ones at once; from ten to twenty. Hogs or pigs will eat any thing that is eatable. But they seem best pleased with vegetables; such as cabbage-stalks, potatoes, pea-shells, the acorns of the oaks, and the nuts of the beach trees, called mast. Their flesh is named pork, and when salted in a particular way, it has the name of bacon or ham. Their lard, or fat cleaned, is used in making many sorts of plasters; and their bristles are formed into brushes of different kinds, and used instead of needles for sewing leather. Now let us go into the house again, and have some lessons.