15.  Perhaps some child who reads this feels conscious of being disliked, and yet desires to have the affection of his companions.  You ask me what you shall do.  I will tell you.  I will give you an infallible rule:  Do all in your power to make others happy.  Be willing to make sacrifices, that you may promote the happiness of others.

16.  This is the way to make friends, and the only way.  When you are playing with your brothers and sisters at home, be always ready to give them more than their share of privileges.  Manifest an obliging disposition, and they can not but regard you with affection.  In all your intercourse with others, at home or abroad, let these feelings influence you, and you will receive a rich reward.

Definitions.—­4.  Cul’ti-vat-ing, cherishing, encouraging. 5.  Un-pop’u-lar, not pleasing others. 6.  Com-pan’ions, those who keep company with anyone. 7.  Sac’ri-fic-es, things given up to oblige others.  Pro-mote’, advance, forward. 10.  Suf’fer-ing, undergoing pain. 11.  Gen-er-os’i-ty, kindness, nobleness of soul. 15.  In-fal’li-ble, certain, that can not fail. 16.  Man’i-fest, to show plainly.  In’ter-course, communication, mutual dealings.

Exercises.—­What is this lesson about?  Can we be happy without friends?  How can we win the love of those about us?  Whose fault is it if we are not loved?  What rule will surely gain us love and friendship if we always follow it?

LX.  THE GIRAFFE, OR CAMELOPARD. (162)

1.  The giraffe is a native of Africa.  It is of singular shape and size, and bears some resemblance both to the camel and the deer.  The mouth is small; the eyes are full and brilliant; the tongue is rough, very long, and ending in a point.  The neck is long and slender, and, from the shoulder to the top of the head, it measures between seven and eight feet; from the ground to the top of the shoulder, it is commonly ten or eleven feet; so that the height of a full-grown giraffe is seventeen or eighteen feet.

2.  The hair is of a deep brown color in the male, and of a light or yellowish brown in the female.  The skin is beautifully diversified with white spots.  They have short, blunt horns, and hoofs like those of the ox.  In their wild state, they feed on the leaves of a gum-bearing tree peculiar to warm climates.

3.  The giraffe, like the horse and other hoofed animals, defends itself by kicking; and its hinder limbs are so light, and its blows so rapid, that the eye can not follow them.  They are sufficient for its defense against the lion.  It never employs its horns in resisting the attack of an enemy.  Its disposition is gentle, and it flees to its native forest upon the least alarm.

4.  Le Vaillant (the celebrated French traveler and naturalist) was the first who gave us any exact account of the form and habits of the giraffe.  While he was traveling in South Africa, he happened one day to discover a hut covered with the skin of one of those animals; and learned to his surprise that he was now in a part of the country where the creature was found.  He could not rest contented until he had seen the animal alive, and had secured a specimen.