98 Eclectic series. not very fine.  I eat birds sometimes, but I am tired of them just now, having lately devoured four young robins; so you may go.  But, bird or mouse, it will be your best policy to keep out of my way hereafter.” 12.  The meaning of this fable is, that a person playing a double part may sometimes escape danger; but he is always, like the bat, a creature that is disgusting to everybody, and shunned by all.  S. G. Goodrich—­Adapted.

Lesson XXXVIII.

A SUMMER DAY.

1.  This is the way the morning dawns: 
Rosy tints on flowers and trees,
Winds that wake the birds and bees,
Dewdrops on the fields and lawns—­
This is the way the morning dawns.

2.  This is the way the sun comes up:  Gold on brook and glossy leaves,

        Thirdreader. 99

Mist that melts above the sheaves,
Vine, and rose, and buttercup—­
This is the way the sun comes up.

 0

3.  This is the way the river flows: 
Here a whirl, and there a dance;
Slowly now, then, like a lance,
Swiftly to the sea it goes—­
This is the way the river flows.

        100 Eclectic series.

4.  This is the way the rain comes down: 
Tinkle, tinkle, drop by drop,
Over roof and chimney top;
Boughs that bend, and skies that frown—­
This is the way the rain comes down.

5.  This is the way the birdie sings: 
“Baby birdies in the nest,
You I surely love the best;
Over you I fold my wings”—­
This is the way the birdie sings.

6.  This is the way the daylight dies: 
Cows are lowing in the lane,
Fireflies wink on hill and plain;
Yellow, red, and purple skies—­
This is the way the daylight dies. 
George Cooper.

        Thirdreader. 101

Lesson XXXIX.

I will think of it. 1.  “I will think of it.”  It is easy to say this; but do you know what great things have come from thinking? 2.  We can not see our thoughts, or hear, or taste, or feel them; and yet what mighty power they have! 3.  Sir Isaac Newton was seated in his garden on a summer’s evening, when he saw an apple fall from a tree.  He began to think, and, in trying to find out why the apple fell, discovered how the earth, sun, moon, and stars are kept in their places. 4.  A boy named James Watt sat quietly by the fireside, watching the lid of the tea kettle as it moved up and down.  He began to think; he wanted to find out why the steam in the kettle moved the heavy lid.

        102 Eclectic series.

5.  From that time he went on thinking and thinking; and when he became a man, he improved the steam engine so much that it could, with the greatest ease, do the work of many horses. 6.  When you see a steamboat, a steam mill, or a locomotive, remember that it would never have been built if it had not been for the hard thinking of some one. 7.  A man named Galileo was once standing in the cathedral of Pisa, when he saw a chandelier swaying to and fro.