Project Gutenberg's The Nursery, March 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 3, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org


Title: The Nursery, March 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 3
       A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

Author: Various

Release Date: February 20, 2009 [EBook #28131]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NURSERY, MARCH 1877 ***




Produced by Emmy, Juliet Sutherland and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. Music
by Linda Cantoni.






THE

NURSERY

A Monthly Magazine

For Youngest Readers.

VOLUME XXI.—No. 3.


BOSTON:
JOHN L. SHOREY, No. 36 BROMFIELD STREET,
1877.
Contents

IN PROSE.

An Old-Time Scene65
Nelly's First Lesson in Dancing      69
Old Jim71
Second Lesson in Astronomy73
How a Rat was once Caught74
To Sea in a Tub76
Drawing-Lesson81
A Woodchuck Hunt82
The Schoolmistress85
Peter and Polly88
Tommy and the Blacksmith89
In the Country91
Dodger93
The Mother-Hen94


IN VERSE.

Tom-Tit68
A Lenten-Song79
A Mew from Pussy86
Down on the Sandy Beach90
Song of the Cat (with music)96
Decoration

[65]

VOL. XXI. No. 3.
Divider

[66]

AN OLD-TIME SCENE.

L

OOK at the picture, and see if you can tell what has roused all those children up so early in the morning. There is Mary in her stocking-feet. There is Ann in her night-dress. There is Tom, bare armed and bare legged.

Why have they all left their beds, and run into the play-room in such haste? And why is little Ned, the baby, sitting up in the bed, as though he wanted to come too?

It is plain enough that the children use that room for a play-room; for you can see playthings on the mantle-piece. But why are they all flocking about the fireplace? And why is mamma coming upstairs with a dust-brush in her hand? And why is that cloth hung over the fireplace? And whose are those bare feet peeping from under it?

"Oh!" perhaps you will say, "it is Santa Claus; and the children are trying to catch him." Oh, no! Santa Claus never allows himself to be caught in that way. You never see even his feet. He never leaves his shoes on the floor, nor dirty old brushes, nor shovels. It is not Santa Claus—it is only a chimney-sweeper.

"But what is a chimney-sweeper?" I think I hear you ask. Well, we do not have such chimney-sweepers now-a-days, at least not in this part of the world. But ask your grandfathers and grandmothers to tell you about the chimney-sweepers that were to be seen in Boston forty or fifty years ago, and I warrant that many of them will remember just such a scene as you see in the picture.

In those days, before hard coal fires had come in use, chimney-sweepers were often employed. They were small boys, working under the orders of a master in the business, who was very often a hard master. Generally they were[67] negroes; but, whether so or not, they soon became so black with soot, that you could not tell them from negroes.

The Modern Chimney-Sweeper. The Modern Chimney-Sweeper.

The chimney-sweepers always came early in the morning, before the fires were lighted; and their coming was a great event to the children of a household. "When a child," says a famous English writer, speaking of the chimney-sweepers of London, "what a mysterious pleasure it was to witness their operation!—to see a chit no bigger than one's self enter into that dark hole—to pursue him in imagination, as he went sounding on through so many stifling caverns—to shudder with the idea, that 'now surely he must be lost forever!'—to revive at hearing his feeble shout of discovered daylight,—and then (oh, fulness of delight!) running out of doors, to come just in time to see him emerge in safety!"

There are chimney-sweepers even now; but none of the old-fashioned kind. In many places it is forbidden by law to send boys up the chimneys. So the modern chimney-sweeper puts his brush on the end of a pole, which is made in joints, like a fishing-rod, and, by attaching joint after joint, thrusts it farther and farther up the chimney.

Divider

[68]

Tom-Tit

TOM-TIT.

What is it? What is it?
Only a feather
Blown by the wind
In this cold stormy weather,
Hunted and hurried so
Hither and thither?
Leaf or a feather,
I know not if either.
There, hark now, and see!
'Tis alight on a tree,
And sings, "Chick-a-dee-dee,
Chick-a-dee-dee!"
I know it! you know it!
'Tis little Tom-tit.

Look at it! Look at it
Flutter and hover!
Only a tuft of down
On it for cover!
Only a bare bough
To shelter it over!
Poor little rover,
Snow-fields for clover
Are all that you see!
Yet listen the glee
Of its "chick-a-dee-dee,
Chick a-dee-dee!"
Hark to it! look at it!
Little Tom-tit!

How is it? Why is it?
Like a snow-flurry,
With swish of wings,
And a swoop and a scurry,
Comes a whole flock of them
Now in a hurry!
Busy and merry
The little things, very;
Watch them, and see
How blithe they can be
With their "Chick-a-dee-dee,
Chick-a-dee-dee!"
Each one such a bit
Of a little Tom-tit!
Mrs. Clara Doty Bates.
Divider

[69]

Nelly's First lesson

NELLY'S FIRST LESSON IN DANCING.

Grandpa Mason has not quite forgotten his dancing days. So one day, when little Nelly said, "I wish I knew how to dance like Emma Drake!" grandpa replied, "I'll teach you, Nelly, if you will bring me my accordion."

So Nelly brought the accordion; and grandpa seated himself in his old wooden arm-chair. First he taught her the steps, and then said, "Now, Nelly, you must try to move[70] round just as you saw Emma do; and be sure and keep time to the music."

Nelly made a courtesy, and began to dance; and, as grandpa looked on, his heart seemed to dance with her; for he felt young once more, and went back, in thought, to the times when he was about as old as she.

That was a long while ago—more than seventy years. He sighed as he thought of his little brothers and sisters, all now gone to the better world. But Nelly's merry look soon drove away his sad mood.

"Well done, Nelly!" said he. "You will make a dancer; for you follow the music well, and step out lightly and easily. Now let me see you rise a little on your left foot, and whirl round once."

Nelly did it, and grandpa said, "Bravely done, little girl! Here ends your first lesson in dancing. To-morrow we will have another. Now get your new 'Nursery,' and let me hear one of the stories; for we must take care of the head, as well as the heels."

Nelly laughed; but, when she began to read, the tune she had just heard came back to her, and she could hardly keep from dancing up and down.

"One thing at a time, darling," said grandpa. "If we would do one thing well, we must not let our thoughts wander to something else. Tell me when you think you can give your thoughts to reading. I can wait."

Nelly took a few more dancing-steps, whirled around twice, made a courtesy, then came, and read so well, that grandpa said, "You deserve a good mark for reading, my dear. Now, whether you read, or whether you dance, mind this:—

"What you do, if well you would do it,
Rule your thoughts, and give them all to it."
Ida Fay.
Divider

[71]

Old Jim

OLD JIM.

Jim is a fine large horse. He lives in the engine-house, and draws the hose-carriage. His stall is so made that, when the alarm-bell strikes, it opens in front of him, leaving the way clear for him to rush out and take his place in front of the hose-carriage.

One night, the hoseman (who sleeps upstairs in the engine-house, so as to be all ready if there is an alarm of fire) heard a great noise down below,—a stamping and jumping, as if the horses were getting ready to go to a fire, when there was no alarm at all. He went softly to the stairway, and looked down; and there was Jim, jumping over the shafts of the hose-carriage, first one way, then another, just to amuse himself.

One day old Jim was in the yard behind the engine-house, and a man went out to catch him, and lead him in.[72] But he rushed and pranced around the yard, and would not be caught. Then the man set out to drive him in; and what do you think Jim did?

Instead of going in at the open door, he made a leap, and went in at the open window, without breaking a glass, or hurting himself in the least. No one who saw the window would believe that such a great horse could possibly have gone through it.

When Jim is fed, he sometimes puts his nose in the oats, and throws them all out on the floor. Then he begins to eat them up, and, after he has eaten all he can reach standing, he goes down on his knees, and reaches out with his long tongue, and picks up every oat he can find.

Outside of his stall, on one side, is a watering-trough, where Jim is taken to drink. The water comes through a pipe, and is turned on by a faucet. Two or three times the water was found running, so that the trough overflowed, when no one had been near to meddle with it.

At last the men suspected that Jim was the rogue, and they kept very still, and watched one night till Jim thought he was all alone. Then they saw him twist himself almost double in his stall, stretch his long neck out, take the faucet in his teeth, turn on the water, and get a good drink. But he could not shut it off again.

Jim is a brave horse to go to a fire; but there is one thing that frightens him dreadfully, and that is—a feather duster! He is not afraid of any thing he sees in the streets, and the greatest noise of the Fourth of July will not scare him; but show him a feather duster, and his heels will fly up, and he will act as if he were going out of his senses.

The firemen think Jim a most amusing horse; and they sometimes say that he understands as much as some people do, and can do most every thing but talk.

H. W.
Divider

[73]

Second lesson in astronomy

SECOND LESSON IN ASTRONOMY.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star:
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!"

Did any of you find the red star I asked you to look for last month? I hope you did; for I want you to look at it again while I tell you something about the "twinkle" of it.

Look very carefully, first at the red star, and then at just as large a white star; and, if your eyes are bright, you will see that the white one twinkles the most. I wish I could tell you why; but I think nobody knows.

Be very careful, though, not to choose a white star that is not a star; for, as that twinkles very little, you may think I am mistaken.

"A star that is not a star?" I think I hear you say, "How I wonder what you are!" Well, I will tell you.

Although most of the "diamonds in the sky," commonly called stars, are real stars, or suns like our sun, a few of them are not suns, but solid globes or worlds like that which we inhabit, warmed and lighted by our sun. When the sun is shining on them, they look bright to us; but it is only[74] the light of our own sun thrown back, or reflected. They give no light themselves.

Because they have our sun, we and they are like members of one family. We call them "planets" (just as our earth is called "a planet"), and are as familiar with their names as if they were our brothers and sisters. One of them, for instance, is called Venus; another, Jupiter; and another, Saturn. Can you remember these hard names?

Now you would never notice the difference between these few stars and all the others, if you did not look very carefully to see whether they twinkle or not. And I would advise you to ask somebody to point them out to you whenever they are in sight.

I cannot tell you exactly where to look for them, because they wander about a good deal, and I do not know where they will be when you happen to read this number of "The Nursery."

From all this you will see that you will have to be very particular what kind of a star you look at when you say,—

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star."
M. E. R.
Divider

HOW A RAT WAS ONCE CAUGHT.

Do you know what sly and cunning creatures rats are? The picture shows how they sometimes contrive to carry off eggs. The old fox in the background seems to be watching the performance with great interest.

But, cute as they are, they sometimes get caught. I am going to tell you how a rat was once caught by a clam. It happened when I was a little child, and lived with my[75] mother. Whether such a thing ever happened before or since, I do not know; but this is a true story.

Catching a rat

One day, my father went to town, and bought some clams. When he came home, I took them down cellar in a basket, and laid them on the brick floor of the cellar. Now, when clams are put where it is dark and cool and quiet, they open their shells. If you should go softly up, and put a straw in one of their mouths, it would clasp its shells together so tightly, that you could not get them open.

The cellar was under my mother's bed-room; and in the night she heard a great noise, like something bumping and slamming, down below. Being a brave woman, she lighted a candle, and went down stairs; and what do you think she found? I will tell you; for I am sure you would never guess.

When the house came to be still with the night-stillness,[76] and every one was in bed, an old rat had come out of his hole, and gone foraging around for his supper. As he walked majestically along, swinging his long tail after him, it happened to switch into a clam's opened shell, when, presto change! the clam was no longer only a clam: it was a rat-trap.

It pinched hard; and I am sure it hurt the old rat very much. He ran across the cellar to his hole; and the clam bounced on the bricks as he went; and that was what my mother had heard. The rat could not get the clam into the hole. It held him fast by the tail all the rest of his life, which was not long; for he was killed soon after.

Lizzie's Mamma.
Divider

TO SEA IN A TUB.

Here is a picture of a boy trying his new boat in a tub of water. His brothers and sisters are looking on. His elder brother seems to be pointing out some fault in the rig of the boat. Perhaps he thinks the sails are too large. The dog Tray takes a good deal of interest in the matter. I wonder what he thinks of it.

But the story I am going to tell you is about a little girl named Emma, and what happened one day, when she went out in the yard to play. Her mother had told her not to go outside the gate: so she looked around the doorway to see what she could find to play with. There stood a great tub full of water; and there, close by, was a pile of chips. "Boats!" said Emma to herself: "I'll sail boats!"

It didn't take a minute to get six of the nicest chips well afloat; but after all they were not much better than rafts.

"I must put on sails," said Emma. And running into[77] the sitting-room, and getting some pins, and then putting a bit of paper on each pin, and sticking a pin upright in each chip, at last she had her little boats with little sails, going straight across the tub with a fair wind.

Sailing in a tub

[78]

Once a fly alighted on one of the boats, and took quite a long voyage. That made Emma think of trying to find other passengers; and she picked up a great ground beetle, and put him aboard. Poor beetle! he didn't want to go, and he wasn't used to it. He tumbled about on the deck; the boat tipped under him, and the next thing Emma knew he was overboard.

"Oh, he mustn't drown!" she cried. "I must get him out!" And she stooped over in great haste to save the poor beetle. But it was a large tub, and a very deep one too; and what did little Emma know about being careful? She lost her balance, and down into the water she went, with a great splash that wrecked all the boats in the same instant. "Mother, mother!" screamed a choking, sputtering voice, as Emma managed to lift her head.

Her mother heard it, and flew to the spot. It didn't take long to get Emma into the warm kitchen, to pull off the wet clothes, to wrap her in a blanket, and set her before the fire in the big rocking-chair, with a bowl of hot ginger-tea to drink. There Emma sat, and steamed, and begged for stories. By eleven o'clock she couldn't stand it any longer, and by noon she was out in the yard again, playing tea-party, and not one whit the worse for her sudden cold bath. But what became of the poor beetle?

Mary L. B. Branch.
Beetle
Divider

[79]

Frogs

A LENTEN-SONG.

FROM THE GERMAN.

Quog, quog, quog, quog!
A very unmusical note:
This eminent basso, Mr. Frog,
Has surely a cold in his throat.
But he does his best, with a good intent,
The little speckled man;
For every frog must sing in Lent,
As loud as ever he can.

Quog, quog, quog, quog!
When the morning sky is red,
He sits on the slippery, mossy log,
[80]With the rushes over his head.
He does his best, with a good intent,
The little sprawling man;
For every frog must sing in Lent,
As loud as ever he can.

Quog, quog, quog, quog!
When the evening sky is pale,
He nestles low in the sheltering bog,
While the gentle dews exhale.
He does his best, with a good intent,
The little struggling man;
For every frog must sing in Lent,
As loud as ever he can.

Quog, quog, quog, quog!
He strains till he shakes the reeds,
And scares his neighbor, Miss Polly Wog
As she hides in the water-reeds.
He does his best, with a good intent,
The little panting man;
For every frog must sing in Lent,
As loud as ever he can.

Quog, quog, quog, quog!
Oh! aren't you afraid you'll burst?
You should have put on, dear Mr. Frog,
Your girdle of leather first.
But on he goes, with his good intent,
The little gasping man;
For every frog must sing in Lent,
As loud as ever he can.
Olive A. Wadsworth.
Divider

[81]

DRAWING-LESSON BY HARRISON WEIR. DRAWING-LESSON BY HARRISON WEIR.
Divider

[82]

A WOODCHUCK HUNT.

One September morning, before breakfast, Ned and Harry went woodchuck hunting. They took Dick, who is a big, fat, spotted coach-dog, and Gyp, a little black-and-tan, with short ears, and afraid of a mouse,—both "such splendid hunters," Harry said.

Gyp ran ahead on three legs; and Dick walked sedately behind. Ned carried the bow, and Harry, the three arrows: and it was enough to make any wise woodchuck tremble to see them.

First they crossed a potato-field, and then a meadow where there was a brook, and where they lost Gyp so often among the bogs, that Harry carried him at last so as to know where he was. Dick ran through the brook, and shook himself over Ned's new sailor-suit; but that was no matter.

Then they came to a rickety old stone wall, and Dick barked. "It must be a woodchuck in the wall. We've got him!" shouted Ned. "Down comes the wall!" Then the stones fell; and Gyp jumped up and down with excitement, while Dick gave a low and terrible growl. "He must be here," said Ned.

But, as he was not to be found, Dick was reproved for giving a false alarm; and they all jumped over the stones of the old wall, and ran up the hill towards the walnut-grove, where woodchucks were sure to be as thick as nuts.

"Here's a fresh hole!" shouted Harry. "Now it's almost breakfast-time: he'll be out before long. Come on, Mr. Chuck, we're waiting for you."

So the boys lay down flat on the mound of earth, and peered into the hole, by way of inviting its owner to come[83] out and be shot; while Dick and Gyp gave persuasive growls and yelps.

Hunting

Strangely enough no woodchuck appeared; and after waiting an "age,"—five minutes long,—the brave hunters decided to dig in. "We ought to have brought spades," they said; but sticks and stones and hands did very well in the soft, wet earth.

About the time that Harry got out of breath, and Ned had dropped a stone on his foot, Dick barked furiously at something moving under a hazel-bush. "Shoot, Ned, shoot!" Harry shouted. "Whiz" went an arrow straight into the bushes, where it lodged, and never more came out.

"A chase, a chase!" cried Ned, throwing down his bow; and away they went,—Harry and Ned, Dick and Gyp,—over stones and fences, bushes and bogs, in pursuit of something; but whether it was a woodchuck or a cat they never[84] got near enough to tell. Suddenly it disappeared in a corn-field.

Dick and Gyp put their tails between their legs, and dropped their ears; but Ned and Harry spied some pumpkins ripening among the stacked corn.

"Gay for Jack-o-lanterns!" said Harry. "Wouldn't they frighten Belle and Lucy, though!"

So two of the biggest pumpkins were cut off. "Now let's take 'em home," said Harry, thinking of his breakfast. But, oh, how heavy those pumpkins grew! In getting over a wall, Harry's fell and was smashed: so the boys took turns in carrying the other one.

Mamma stood on the piazza, in a fresh white morning-dress. She heard Dick and Gyp, and then she saw her little boys. Oh, what a sight!—the striped stockings and blue sailor-suits all one shade of yellow brown earth!

"Did you have good sport?" asked papa, coming to the door.

"Splendid! Found lots of holes," said Ned, dumping the pumpkin. And what they did with the pumpkin, perhaps I'll tell you another time.

Miss A. H. R.
Woodchuck
Divider

[85]

Schoolmistress

THE SCHOOLMISTRESS.

"There are many thousand words in our language," said Ellen, reading from a book, "and some words are used for one purpose, and some for another; and the same word may be used in different ways. When your uncle gave you a lot of shells last December, what did you do with them, Edwin?"

"I classified them: that is, I put one kind into one heap, and another kind into another heap; and so on."

"Well, that is just the way we do with words; we put them in classes which we call Parts of Speech. Now, there is one class of words which is made up of name-words or nouns; that is, of words that are used as names of persons or things. In the sentence, 'Birds fly,' birds is a noun, and fly is a verb."

"I think I knew that much already, Schoolmistress."[86]

"Well, sir, since you know so much, let me hear you correct the mistakes in the following sentence: 'A pear or peach, when they are ripe, are good food for the boy or girl who like them.'"

"It should be: 'A pear or a peach, when it is ripe, is good food for the boy or girl who likes it.'"

"Well done, Edwin! go up to the head of your class."

Edwin walked round his sister, as she sat in her chair, and then gravely took his place again before her.

"Here are two sentences, Edwin: 'I fell down,' and 'I fell down stairs.' Down is not the same Part of Speech in the two sentences. What is it in the first?'"

"An Adverb; and in the second it is a Preposition."

"Well, sir, school is dismissed. You may go. I shall give you a good mark in grammar."

Ida Fay.
Divider

A MEW FROM PUSSY.

IN ANSWER TO "A SQUEAK."[A]

I am only the lazy old cat
That sleeps upon somebody's mat:
I sit in the sunshine,
And lick my soft paws,
With one eye on mousie,
And one on my claws.
Little mouse, little mouse! look out how you boast!
Of just such as you I have eaten a host!
I'm a much smarter cat than you seem to suppose;
I have very keen eyes, and, oh—such a nose!

[87]

Innocent looking cat
I'm an innocent looking cat;
I am well aware of that:
I squint up my eyes,
And play with the flies,
But underneath I am wondrous wise:
I know where your nest is,
And just where you hide
When you have been thieving,
And fear you'll be spied.
I saw your small tracks all over the meal;
And I saw your tail, and I heard you squeal
When grandmamma's broom
Nearly sealed your doom,
[88]And you went whisking out of the room.
I am only a lazy old cat:
I care not much for a rat;
But a nice tender mouse
About in the house
Might prove a temptation too great,
Should I be in a hungry state.
Little mouse, little mouse! Beware, beware!
Some time, when you think not, I shall be there,
And you'll not only look at,
But feel of, my paws;
And, the first thing you know,
I'll be licking my jaws,
And washing my face with an innocent air,
And mousie will be—oh, where? oh, where?
Ruth Kenyon.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] See January number, page 18.

Divider
Sharing

Peter.—Fresh baked peanuts! Give a fellow some, Polly.

Polly.—Yes, Peter, you shall have a good share.

Divider

[89]

Tommy and the Blacksmith

TOMMY AND THE BLACKSMITH.

Tommy.—Do you shoe horses here, Mr. Blacksmith?

Blacksmith.—Yes, little man: that's my business.

Tommy.—Well, I want my horse shod.

Blacksmith.—How much can you pay for the job? It will take a good deal of iron to shoe such a big horse as that.

Ruth.—He wants you to do it for nothing, Mr. Blacksmith.

Blacksmith.—Every trade must live, my little lady. If Tommy can afford to keep a horse, he ought to be able to pay for having it shod.

Tommy.—I will pay you next Christmas.

Blacksmith.—-Never run in debt, my lad. If you can't[90] pay for a thing on the spot, do without it. Shun debt as you would poison.

Ruth.—That is just what my grandfather says.

Tommy.—Well, when I get some money, I'll come again, Mr. Blacksmith; for this horse must be shod, if there's iron enough to do it with. Good-by!

Blacksmith.—Good-by, Tommy! Good-by, Ruth!

Arthur Selwyn.
Divider

DOWN ON THE SANDY BEACH.

Down on the sandy beach,
When the tide was low;
Down on the sandy beach,
Many years ago,
Two of us were walking,
Two of us were talking
Of what I cannot tell you,
Though I'm sure you'd like to know.

Down in the water
A duck said, "Quack!"
Up in the tree-top
A crow answered back,
Two of us amusing,
Two of us confusing:
So we had to give up talking,
And just listen to their clack.

"Quack!" said the little duck,
Swimming with the tide;
"Caw!" said the saucy crow,
Swelling up with pride,
"I'm a jolly rover,
And I live in clover:
Don't you wish that you were here,
Sitting by my side?"

"Quack, quack!" said the duck,
Very much like "No."
"Caw, caw!—ha, ha!"
Laughed the silly crow:
Two of us delighting,
Two of us inviting
To join the merry frolic
With a ringing ho, ho, ho!

Crack!—and a bullet went
Flying from a gun!
Duck swimming down the stream,
We on a run,
Wondered why or whether
We couldn't be together
Without another coming in
And spoiling all the fun!
Josephine Pollard.
Divider

[91]

In the country

IN THE COUNTRY.

Fanny and Willy are having a nice ride on the back of the great cart-horse.

Mamma points at Willy with her sun-shade, and says, "Hold on tight, little boy." Pink, the dog, says, "Bow-wow! Take me up there with you."[92]

Feeding chickens

Kate and Jane have the care of the biddies. They feed them with corn every day. The hens flock around the door as soon as the two girls come out.

Kate and Jane both say that the hens are fond of them; but I think they are still more fond of the corn.

A. B. C.
Divider

[93]

Dodger

DODGER.

Dodger is a full-blooded Scotch terrier. His eyes are the brightest of all bright eyes; and he acts just as one might suppose from his name. He dodges here and there,—under the sofa, and behind the stove, and up in a chair, and sometimes puts his paws up on the baby's cradle.[94]

The other day, the baby's red sock dropped off from his foot; and Dodger slyly picked it up, and, going to a corner of the room, ate off the red tassels that were on it. I don't think he will do it again; for he did not act as though they tasted very good.

Dodger has many cunning ways. He will bring his master's slippers, sit up straight, pretend to be dead, and do many other funny things. Just now his master is trying to teach him to shut a door.

Dodger belongs to a little boy in Hartford, Conn., who has read "The Nursery" for five years. The little boy's name is Georgie, and I am

Georgie's Mamma.
Divider

THE MOTHER-HEN.

Mother-hen

By the side of my home a river runs; and down close by the banks of it lives a good family named Allen. Mr. Allen keeps a large number of hens and ducks. One old hen had twice been put to sit on ducks' eggs, and hatched two broods of ducks.

The first brood she hatched took to the water as soon as they saw it, as all little ducks will. The old hen was almost crazy at such behavior on the part of her chicks, and flew down to the water's edge, clucking and calling at a great rate. However,—to her great surprise, probably,—they all came safely to land. Every day after that, when the little ducks went for a swim, their hen-mother walked[95] nervously back and forth on the shore, and was not easy till they came out of the water.

By and by, after those ducks had all grown large, the hen hatched another brood. These, too, at first sight of the water, went in for a swim. The old hen was not quite as frightened as before, but stood and looked at them, clucking a little to herself, as if to say, "Strange chickens these of mine; but yet, if they like it, I don't know as I need care, so long as they don't ask me to go with them." So, after a while, that brood grew to be big ducks.

One day last summer, as I sat on the bank of the river, looking at the pretty blue rippling water, who should come walking proudly down to the water's-edge but, Mrs. Hen with another brood of little, waddling, yellow ducks behind her! She led them clear to the edge of the water, saw them start off, and, turning away, went contentedly to scratching at some weeds on the shore, taking no more notice of her little family. She had come to regard this swimming business as a matter of course.

Now one little duck, for some reason,—maybe he was not so strong as the others,—had not gone into the water with the rest, but remained sitting on the shore. Presently the mother-hen, turning round, happened to spy him. She stopped scratching, and looked at him as if she were saying, "All my chickens swim: now what is the matter with you? I know it must be laziness; and I won't have that."

Then spreading out her wings, and making an angry clucking, she flew towards the unlucky duckling, took him by the back of his neck in her beak, and threw him as far as possible into the water. As she walked back to her weeds again; it seemed almost as if I could hear her say,—

"The chicken who can swim and won't swim must be made to swim."

L. W. E.
Divider

[96]

Song of the Cat

SONG OF THE CAT.

Words by A. Lloyd.                         Music by T. Crampton
Music
[Transcriber's Note: You can play this music (MIDI file) by clicking here.]

1. The cat and her kittens recline in the sun,
Mew! mew! mew!
They're fond of their food and they're fond of their fun;
Mew! mew! mew!
Their old mother says they must sit in a row,
The biggest is Jack and the little one Joe,
And now altogether they make the place ring,
With the one song they know and the chorus they sing:
Mew! mew! mew! . . .
Mew! mew! mew!

2. My dear little kittens when you are well grown,
Mew! mew! mew!
Some day you will each have a home of your own;
Mew! mew! mew!
You'll catch all the mice and you'll kill all the rats,
And grow up, I hope, both respectable cats,
Don't get in the cupboard, nor kill the poor lark,
Keep away from big dogs and get home before dark;
Mew! mew! mew! . . .
Mew! mew! mew!

3. The kittens they listen'd and said they'd be good,
Mew! mew! mew!
And not kill the birds nor destroy the young brood!
Mew! mew! mew!
They lov'd their good mother, and tho't 'twould be nice,
To grow strong and hearty and catch and kill mice.
She wash'd all their faces and put them to bed,
And now what do you think was the last thing they said;
Mew! mew! mew! . . .
Mew! mew! mew!

Transcriber's Notes:

The January edition of the Nursery had a table of contents for the first six issues of the year. This table was divided to cover each specific issue. A title page copied from the January edition was also used for this number.

A comma was changed to a period on page 94. (tasted very good.)






End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nursery, March 1877, Vol. XXI. No.
3, by Various

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NURSERY, MARCH 1877 ***

***** This file should be named 28131-h.htm or 28131-h.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/1/3/28131/

Produced by Emmy, Juliet Sutherland and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. Music
by Linda Cantoni.


Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.



*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).


Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works

1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.

1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.

1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
     License.  You must require such a user to return or
     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
     of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.

1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.


Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.


Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected].  Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org

For additional contact information:
     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
     Chief Executive and Director
     [email protected]


Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate


Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.

Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.


Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.


Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

     http://www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.