Cold the winter wind is blowing,
And it never ceases snowing,
Snowing, blowing, all day long,
Yet I sing a merry song.

I like to see the bright fire burning,
I like to know my bread I'm earning,
I like to work and then to play;
I'm happy, happy, all the day.

Soon will come the spring's soft showers,
And after that the summer flowers;
This makes me happy all day long,

This makes me sing a merry song.

And, as the winter passed away, I began to long for the spring that Christina sang about. I was very fond of my little friend, but I was only a robin redbreast, and wanted to get out to see what was going on in the forest. It was with a joyful heart, then, that I saw the snow going away and the days getting longer. Christina was glad too, and so was old Hans.

One day the bright sun came out from the clouds, and then I sang my sweetest song as a farewell to dear Christina. She knew I was pining for the fresh air, so she opened the tiny window of the cottage, and said: 'Good-bye, dear little Robin, and don't forget Christina, but come again next winter.' I sang again to thank her, some friends of the robin

and then flew away to visit red breast tribe. But I often come back to where my dear little friend lives with old Hans, just to see her again, and find out whether every one is as kind to her as she was to me last winter.

The little Dormouse is tawny red;

He makes against winter a nice snug bed,

He makes his bed in a mossy bank,

Where the plants in the summer grow tall and rank.

2.

Away from the daylight, far under ground,

His sleep through the winter is quiet and sound.
And when all above him it freezes and snows,
What is it to him, for he nought of it knows?
And till the cold time of the winter is gone,
The little Dormouse keeps sleeping on.

3.

But at last, in the fresh breezy days of the spring, When the green leaves bud, and the merry birds sing,

And the dread of the winter is over and past,
The little Dormouse peeps out at last.

4.

Out of his snug quiet burrow he wends,

And looks all about for his neighbours and friends;
Then he says, as he sits at the foot of a larch:
"Tis a beautiful day, for the first day of March!
The violet is blowing, the blue sky is clear;
The lark is upspringing, his carol I hear;

And in the green fields are the lamb and the foal;
I am glad I'm not sleeping now down in my hole!'

5.

Then away he runs, in his merry mood,
Over the fields and into the wood,

To find any grain there may chance to be,
small berry that hangs on the tree.

Or

any

6.

So, from early morning, till late at night,
Has the poor little creature its own delight,
Looking down to the earth and up to the sky,
Thinking, 'Oh, what a happy Dormouse am I!'

ON VEGETABLES.

veg'e.ta.bles, re-move', re-mark'a.ble, dif'fer-ence, nour'ish.ment, on'ions, in'ju.ry, car'pen.ter, ex-am'ple, cab'bage, let'tuce.

All things that grow in the earth are called vegetables or plants. Vegetables are said to be alive when they are growing, and dead when they wither and cease to grow. Vegetables cannot remove from one place to another like animals. They must remain in the place where they are growing. But there is another remarkable difference between vegetables and animals-vegetables cannot feel.

A plant grows from a seed which is sown in the ground. In spring, when the weather becomes warm, the heat causes the seed to swell out till it bursts its skin or covering, and then two little shoots push out from the seed. One of these grows down into the ground, and is called the root, and the other grows upwards, and rises above the ground. It is called the stem. By and by leaves grow on the stem, and at last, on the top of the plant there comes out a flower.

A great many little roots grow out from the root underground. Each of them has a little mouth through which it sucks up nourishment. By means of these roots, vegetables draw up water mixed with other substances in the ground, and this sap rises up to the stem, and then through all the branches. Unless, however, they had the heat of the sun, vegetables could not grow. When the bleak cold days of winter come, the sap goes down again into the earth, the leaves wither and die, and the plants are bare until the warmth of spring revives them, and causes them to push forth new buds and leaves.

The roots of plants are not only useful to the plants, but they are also very useful to man. Many of them are

eaten, as turnips, carrots, and onions.

The stems of many plants are very valuable to us. Thus, the stems of corn, which, after the corn has been thrashed out, are called straw, serve as litter for horses in the stable, and are used to make beds for the cows to lie down upon. In some warm countries, the stem of a plant called the sugar-cane provides us with sugar. The stem of the flax plant consists of a number of threads, which are woven into linen, of which shirts and sheets and towels are made. The stem of hemp, which is a plant of the same kind as flax, is made into canvas for sails for ships, and for tents and ropes.

Trees are large vegetables. Their stems, called trunks, are made of wood, and are covered with a bark or skin, which protects them from injury, and assists them in their growth. The wood of trees is sawn into long deals and beams, and is made by carpenters into chairs, tables, floors of houses, doors, carts, and many other things.

The leaves of plants form food for sheep and cattle. Grass, for example, consists chiefly of leaves. Leaves are eaten by men too, as the leaves of the cabbage, lettuce, &c. The tea that we drink is made by soaking the leaves of the tea-plant in boiling water.

The blossoms or flowers of plants protect the seed, and when the blossom withers and falls off, the seed remains in the fruit. The seeds of plants, from which young plants grow, are of great use to animals. Birds feed on them. The seeds of corn are made into bread; and we eat peas and beans, and the seeds of a great many other plants.

So you see that every part of a plant is useful, not only to the plant itself, but to animals as well.