The boy believed that it was the arrival of his four little black things which had worked this miracle, and I do not think he was mistaken.  Without the crickets, and his good little heart, would this happy change have taken place in his mother’s fortunes?

From the French of Pierre J. Hetzel.

* * * * *

Jacques (zh[:a]k), James.

In the selection, find ten sentences that ask questions, and five that express commands or requests.

What mark of punctuation always follows the first kind?  The second?

Memorize: 

In the evening I sit near my poker and tongs,
And I dream in the firelight’s glow,
And sometimes I quaver forgotten old songs
That I listened to long ago. 
Then out of the cinders there cometh a chirp
Like an echoing, answering cry,—­
Little we care for the outside world,
My friend the cricket, and I.

For my cricket has learnt, I am sure of it quite,
That this earth is a silly, strange place,
And perhaps he’s been beaten and hurt in the fight,
And perhaps he’s been passed in the race. 
But I know he has found it far better to sing
Than to talk of ill luck and to sigh,—­
Little we care for the outside world,
My friend the cricket, and I.

* * * * *

34

For Recitation: 

OUR HEROES.

Here’s a hand to the boy who has courage
To do what he knows to be right;
When he falls in the way of temptation
He has a hard battle to fight. 
Who strives against self and his comrades
Will find a most powerful foe: 
All honor to him if he conquers;
A cheer for the boy who says “No!”

There’s many a battle fought daily
The world knows nothing about;
There’s many a brave little soldier
Whose strength puts a legion to rout. 
And he who fights sin single-handed
Is more of a hero, I say,
Than he who leads soldiers to battle,
And conquers by arms in the fray.

Be steadfast, my boy, when you’re tempted,
And do what you know to be right;
Stand firm by the colors of manhood,
And you will o’ercome in the fight. 
“The right!” be your battle cry ever
In waging the warfare of life;
And God, who knows who are the heroes,
Will give you the strength for the strife.

Phoebe Cary.

From “Poems for the Study of Language.”  Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Publishers.

* * * * *

Write sentences each containing one of the following words: 

I, me; he, him; she, her; they, them.

Memory Gems: 

For raising the spirits, for brightening the eyes, for bringing back vanished smiles, for making one brave and courageous, light-hearted and happy, there is nothing like a good Confession.