Lesson VIII.

THE WHITE KITTEN.

1.  My little white kitten’s asleep on my knee;
As white as the snow or the lilies is she;
    She wakes up with a pur
    When I stroke her soft fur: 
Was there ever another white kitten like her?

        30 Eclectic series.

2.  My little white kitten now wants to go out
And frolic, with no one to watch her about;
    “Little kitten,” I say,
   “Just an hour you may stay,
And be careful in choosing your places to play.”

3.  But night has come down, when I hear a loud “mew;”
I open the door, and my kitten comes through;
    My white kitten! ah me! 
    Can it really be she—­
This ill-looking, beggar-like cat that I see?

4.  What ugly, gray streaks on her side and her back! 
Her nose, once as pink as a rosebud, is black! 
    Oh, I very well know,
    Though she does not say so,
She has been where white kittens ought never to go.

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5.  If little good children intend to do right,
If little white kittens would keep themselves white,
    It is needful that they
    Should this counsel obey,
And be careful in choosing their places to play.

Lesson IX.

THE BEAVER.

1.  The beaver is found chiefly in North America.  It is about three and a half feet long, including the flat, paddle-shaped tail, which is a foot in length. 2.  The long, shining hair on the back is chestnut-colored, while the fine, soft fur that lies next the skin, is grayish brown. 3.  Beavers build themselves most curious huts to live in, and quite frequently a great number of these huts are placed close together, like the buildings in a town. 4.  They always build their huts on the banks of rivers or lakes, for they swim much

32 Eclectic series. more easily than they walk, and prefer moving about in the water. 5.  When they build on the bank of a running stream, they make a dam across the stream for the purpose of keeping the water at the height they wish. 6.  These dams are made chiefly of mud, and stones, and the branches of trees.  They are sometimes six or seven hundred feet in length, and are so constructed that they look more like the work of man than of little dumb beasts. 7.  Their huts are made of the same material as the dams, and are round in shape.  The walls are very thick, and the roofs are finished off with a thick layer of mud, sticks, and leaves. 8.  They commence building their houses late in the summer, but do not get them finished before the early frosts.  The freezing makes them tighter and stronger. 9.  They obtain the wood for their dams and huts by gnawing through the branches of trees, and even through the trunks of small ones, with their sharp front teeth.  They peel off the bark, and lay it up in store for winter food.