Year: 1872

once lived together in forest, very hap


PLY in one dwelling. One day, an old
man, toil-worn, weary and hungry,


came to their home, where they gladly


welcomed him. After little while he
said to them:


My children, in my home great


ways from here, heard that you, al


though from different families, lived


very happily together; so have come


hungry. Have you nothing that you


can get to refresh me ?" 5.t


They all exclaimed, "We will try"


They went in different directions to
see what they could find for the mans
supper. The fox went to the river and
caught a fish; the monkey climbed q


tree and brought the finest cocoanuts,
but the little rabbit returned without
anything. The old man SAID to the rab-
bit: r.E ..t.f


Ny child, l am very sorry that
while your friends can each do some
ching for the old and weary, you do not
care tc do anything" f


The little rabbit looked very sad and
turning to his companions asked them
to help him gather some sticks and
dried leaves to make fire. When this
was done, he turned to the old man
and said: ra4


"Kind sir, am poor, feeble animal
who cannot fish like the fox, or climb
trees like the monkey. After looking
everywhere, could find nothing wor-
thy ofyour acceptance, but to show you
that am willing to do something for
you, will give myself"


With that he threw himself into the
fire, and was roasted for the old mans
supper. The old man was one of their
gods in disguise, and to commemorate
the selfdevotion of the rabbit, he placed
him in the moon, where he should
never be forgotten. The next time you
see the full moon, want you to look
at it, and see if you can fancy that the
dark figure in it looks like rabbit
standing up on its hind legs, with q
stick in its forepaw, pounding rice in a
wooden bowl. B. A. V.
Letter Writing. .'
know shall be going straight to the
mark when observe that the first diff
Guilty of almost every boy or girl sitting
down to write 9 letter or an essay is,
How shall begin?


Let us first of all look at the case of
writing letter. A boy who is, we will
say, at school, or staying with some
friend or relation, thinks he will write
home, or he is told by his master, or
the friend, that he ought to do 80. He
takes up pen, and is brooding over
sheet of paper; but, unless he has some
very particular news to send, or some
very particular request to make, be can
not get beyond any dear Parents"
This is partly because children at home
are accustomed to such ceaseless care
from their fathers and mothers that
they have rarely to tell their wants or
to give any news.


In Goldsmith's story of the "Vicar of
Wakefield" all the travels of the family
were from the blue room to the brown.
and in that kind of life there does not
seem much occasion for letter writing.


But what earnestly advise boys and
girls to do is what / used to do myself
when a child, and what | have seen
other children do with great advantage.
Begin as early as possible to practice
writing letters, and, in general, writing
things down. / am now supposing that
YOU have learnt to read little, but do
not vet go to school. 1t is plain that
no child who is young enough to need
or use this advice is old enough to read
it, but older brothers and sisters can,
and in helping their juniors, they viii!
be helping themselves. The italic char
acters of common print are much like
those of common hand writing, and are
easily used by young fingers on slate
or with a lead pencil on paper-a lead
pencil is good to begin with, because
it must be held firmly if a strong stroke
is to be made.


A child of nine or ten may most USE
fully help to give child of six (who
can ready simple lessons in the use of
written language; and, in doing this,
the elder child will be gaining at least
as much as he gives.


l will suppose that you, Bob, aged
twelve who can read This, have sister
aged six who cannot, but who can still
read some things, and can write very
little. You can say to her - Write
down on the slate what sort of day it
is; write where mammals gone to;
write down what you think it is o'clock,
and what you were doing little while
ago. and so on. We will shortly say
more about the $50 on"


But it cannot be too often repeated
that an older child that teaches q
Younger in this way will be teaching
himself great deal more than he at
the time has any idea Of


There are at least three cases in which
perhaps most children feel desire to .
write to father or mother even when
they are all at home together lst,
whom the child has something particu-
lar to ask for; I'd, when he has some
thing particular to offer thanks for; Sd,
when he has something particular to say
he is sorry for. In either of these cases
a child may feel just enough shyness to
make him inclined to write rather than
speak. And the use of such opportuni-
ties makes good practice, to begin with,
in the art of composition.


But, besides this, there are, perhaps,
few children who do not invent and tell
stories.


And say to any Bill, or Tom, or Jess
or Alice, who reads this, practice as far
as you can the writing out the stories
you think of.


You will make many mistakes at nrst,
and will still more frequently fall short
of what YOU ought to do; but never mino
that at the starting.-Matthew Bro'on, IN
Good Words For The Young.


NAN named Grubb, living near
Rarrv. Pike county, Ill.,, on his return
from q visit to Iaddonia, Mo-, on Satur-