Friends and Helpers

PART I.. Rover and His Friends .. Adapted From an English Story

ROVER AND HIS FRIENDS .. Adapted from an English story FAMOUS DOGS HOW TO TAKE CARE OF DOGS .. Anna Harris Smith STORIES OF DOGS FORSAKE NOT AN OLD FRIEND .. Plutarch CATS AND DOGS FAMOUS CATS KITTY'S CHRISTMAS TO MY CAT MUFF .. John Owen HOW TO TAKE CARE OF CATS CAT QUESTIONS .. Lucy Larcom THE CAT FAMILY THINGS TO REMEMBER STORIES OF CATS A BRAVE GIRL .. Harriet Beecher Stowe AUNT ESTHER'S RULE .. " " LION STORIES THE KING OF BEASTS THE SHIP OF THE DESERT A HEAVY LOAD FAMOUS HORSES HOW TO TREAT HORSES CATCHING THE COLT .. Marian Douglass A REMARKABLE HORSE-TRAINER THE ARAB TO HIS HORSE .. Bayard Taylor "WAITING FOR MASTER"

PART II.. Robert's Dream .. Anna Harris Smith

ROBERT'S DREAM .. Anna Harris Smith ROBERT ON A FARM .. Anna Harris Smith APRIL SONG .. Mary E. Wilkins EARTHWORMS AND SNAKES. HUMANITY .. T. Gisborne ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS A LITTLE BLACK SLAVE .. Adapted from an English story A BUTTERFLY'S WING TO A BUTTERFLY .. Jane Taylor CUNNING BEE .. Anonymous GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET .. John Keats PATIENT WEAVERS THE WOODMOUSE .. Mary Howitt A MOUSE'S STORY WISE RATS THE SQUIRREL'S STORY .. Anna Harris Smith FORBEARANCE .. Ralph Waldo Emerson THE STEEL TRAP .. Adapted from story by Mrs. C. Fairchild Allen THE RABBIT DAVID'S STORY LINES FROM COWPER SOME READY HELPERS A TRIUMPH .. Celia Thaxter

PART III.. The Canary's Story

THE CANARY'S STORY THE CAGED THRUSH .. R. F. Murray HOW TO CARE FOR A CANARY AN INDIAN STORY HIAWATHA'S BROTHERS .. Henry W. Longfellow TO THE CUCKOO .. John Logan OUR FRIENDS THE BIRDS \ FEATHERED TRAVELERS | WHEN THE BIRDS RETURN > .. Frank M. Chapman BIRDS' HOMES | THE ROBIN / ROBIN REJOICE .. Garrett Newkirk TO A SKYLARK .. Percy Bysshe Shelley FRIGHTENED BIRDS DON'T ROB THE BIRDS, BOYS .. Anonymous A GOOD SHOT .. Adapted THE GOLDFINCH BIRDS' TRADES THE SPARROW SPARROWS CHRISTMAS IN NORWAY .. Celia Thaxter THE CROW THE BLUEBIRD .. Emily Huntington Miller THE FARMER'S FRIEND THE WOUNDED CURLEW .. Celia Thaxter THE SANDPIPER .. " " THE COST OF A HAT THE HALO .. Rev. W. C. Gannett THE SNOWY HERON WINGED FISHERS WHAT THE LITTLE SEAL THINKS WHAT THE YOUNG SEABIRD THINKS WHAT THE BIRDS DO FOR US THE BRAVEST ARE THE TENDEREREST LINES TO A SEABIRD .. M. A. Stodart THE TRUE HERO LINES BY SUSAN COOLIDGE SELECTIONS FROM EMILY DICKINSON AND S. T. COLERIDGE WHAT THE CHILDREN CAN DO TO THE TEACHER

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispiece, "Loving Playmates." From photograph by Sarah J. Eddy. "Can't You Talk?" By G. A. Holmes "Speak for It." From photograph by S. J. Eddy Group of Sheep under Tree. From photograph by T. E. M. and G. P. White The Connoisseurs. From painting by Sir Edwin Landseer Odin. From painting by Sir Edwin Landseer Owney. From photograph by Elmer Chickering Hearing. From painting by H. Sperling "Saved." From painting by H. Sperling Breakfast. From painting by H. W. Trood Alexander. From photograph by S. J. Eddy Kitty's Christmas. From photograph by S. J. Eddy Gentle Kitty Gray. " " " Cat's Paw Cat's Eye A Happy Pair. From photograph by S. J. Eddy The Traveling Basket. " " " "Please give me some more. " " " Driven out. From painting by M. Stocks Friends The Lion at Home. From painting by Rosa Bonheur Portrait of Rosa Bonheur. From painting by Rosa Bonheur The King of Beasts. From painting by Rosa Bonheur The Ship of the Desert At the Watering Trough. By Dagnan-Bouveret A Norman Sire. From painting by Rosa Bonheur Three Members of a Temperance Society. By J. F. Herring Natural and Comfortable Strained and Miserable Mare and Colt. From painting by C. Steffeck Waiting for Master A Farm Yard A Group of Friends. From photograph by S. J. Eddy Hen and Chickens. " " " Chickens Drinking A Happy Family. From photograph by J. M. Eldredge Just Arrived Pig looking over a Fence Feeding the Pigs Old White Horse A Little Songster Pussy Willows Paper-Makers A Butterfly Grasshopper and Cricket. Illustration by Alice Barber Stephens Spider and Web A Woodmouse Little Freehold. By S. J. Carter An Interesting Family. By S. J. Carter Frog and Lily-pads Four little Friends A Bird's House Feathered Travelers Over the Nest A Bird's Nest Swallows Bird and Nest. From photograph by S. J. Eddy Robin Frightened Bird Mother Bird feeding Little One The Goldfinch Sparrows A Wintry Day The Farmer's Friend Head-piece to "The Cost of a Hat" The Snowy Heron Egret Plumes Sea-gulls Birds on Fence A Band of Mercy. From photograph by S. J. Eddy Making Friends. " " "

PART I. Rover and Other Stories

ROVER AND OTHER STORIES

ROVER AND HIS FRIENDS.

WHY ROVER RAN AWAY.

One morning Rover was very hungry indeed. He had been going from place to place with his master, and now it was two long days since he had eaten a good dinner. His master was a poor tinker who traveled about the country and never stayed long in one place. Rover would have liked this if his master had been kind to him, but the dog was used only to blows and kicks.

Rover was a rough, shaggy dog, and his tail curled down under him in a way that showed he had been ill-treated. But he had good, faithful, brown eyes, and the drooping tail was always ready to wag at a kind word.

The tinker's breakfast was on the table. How good it smelt! Rover looked at it with longing eyes.

"Please give me a bit, master," said Rover. "I am so hungry!"

The tinker did not seem to hear. At last he said roughly: "Be still, Rover!"

Rover waited patiently for a few minutes, but his master had no thought of feeding him. At last Rover put out his long, red tongue and swept the meat and bread into his mouth.

Then the angry tinker struck the poor dog and spoke sharply to him. An hour later Rover had run away.

ROVER'S NEW HOME

It was a hot day in summer, and Rover stopped to drink some water out of a mud-puddle. How hungry and thirsty he was! He ran on for miles and miles. At last he saw a cottage with smoke coming out of the chimney. High hills were all around it, and a thick, dark wood was not far away. On the doorstep were two little children. When they saw the dog they shouted with delight.

"It is Rover!" cried Sandy. "It is Tommy Tinker's dog. Where have you come from, old fellow, and where is your master?"

It was plain that Rover was no stranger to them. He had been there with his master only the week before, and while Tinker Tom was mending the kettle, the children and the dog had made friends. The mother had given him a bone, and though some persons may forget a kindness, a dog never does. Rover could not answer Sandy's question. All he could do was to wag his tail faster than ever. The little girl put her arms about his shaggy neck.

"Poor doggie!" she said. "You shall have some of my supper."

HOW ROVER WAS CARED FOR.

When the children's mother saw Rover she brought him a large bowl of water, which he quickly lapped up. Then she gave him something to eat and made a soft bed for him in a corner of the room. She said: "Perhaps Tinker Tom may come for his dog, and we will keep him till then."

Rover hoped he would never come, but he could not say so. He curled himself up in his bed and, with a long sigh of happiness, went to sleep.

Rover was very happy in his new home. He had no wish to run away again. He had good brown bread to eat, which was better for him than white bread would have been. Sandy learned to make for him a thick cake out of oatmeal, and sometimes he had a bone. Fortunately for the dog, Sandy's mother was too poor to be able to give him much meat. There was always a dish of fresh water ready for him, and a bit of cabbage with his food kept him well and strong.

Sandy would often talk to Rover, and the dog soon learned to understand what was said to him. He was delighted when Sandy said, "Would you like to go for a walk?" But Sandy never said this unless he was really going to take Rover out, or the dog soon would have learned that the boy did not always mean what he said.

One of the things that Rover liked best to do was to run after a large ball of wool which Sandy made on purpose for him.

Sandy often brushed and combed Rover, and this made his coat glossy and clean. One would hardly have recognized the rough, neglected dog in the pet of the household.

TINKER TOM COMES BACK

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