After the bear had gone, the traveler in the tree came down to join his companion, and, as a pleasant joke, inquired, "What was it the bear whispered in your ear?"

His friend replied very gravely, "He gave me this advice: Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger." Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

-Esor's FABLES.

Tell a story that illustrates the same meaning.

BIRDS.

BIRDS IN SUMMER.

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,
Flitting about in each leafy tree;
In the leafy trees so broad and tall,
Like a green and beautiful palace hall,
With its airy chambers light and boon,
That open to sun and stars and moon;
That open to the bright blue sky,
And the frolicsome winds as they wander by.

They have left their nests on the forest bough;
Those homes of delight they need not now;

And the young and the old they wander out, And traverse their green world round about; And hark! at the top of this leafy hall, How one to the other in love they call! "Come up! come up!" they seem to say, "Where the topmost twigs in the breezes sway.

"Come up! come up! for the world is fair Where the merry leaves dance in the summer

air."

And the birds below give back the cry,

"We come, we come to the branches high." How pleasant the lives of the birds must be, Living in love in a leafy tree!

And away through the air what joy to go, And to look on the green, bright earth below!

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,

Skimming about on the breezy sea,

Cresting the billows like silvery foam,

Then wheeling away to its cliff-built home!
What joy it must be to sail, upborne

By a strong, free wing, through the rosy morn!
To meet the young sun face to face,

And pierce like a shaft the boundless space;

To pass through the bowers of the silver cloud; To sing in the thunder-halls aloud;

To spread out the wings for a wild, free flight
With the upper cloud-winds-oh, what delight!
Oh, what would I give like a bird, to go
Right on through the arch of a sunlit bow,
And see how the water-drops are kissed
Into green and yellow and amethyst!

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,
Wherever it listeth there to flee;

To

go when a joyful fancy calls, Dashing adown 'mong the waterfalls;

Then to wheel about with their mates at play,
Above and below and among the spray,
Hither and thither, with screams as wild
As the laughing mirth of a rosy child!

What joy it must be, like a living breeze,
To flutter about 'mid the flowering trees;
Lightly to soar, and to see beneath
The wastes of the blossoming purple heath,
And the yellow furze, like fields of gold,
That gladdened some fairy region old!
On the mountain tops, on the billowy sea,
On the leafy stems of a forest tree,
How pleasant the life of a bird must be!

-MARY HOWITT.

frolicsome

skimming amethyst

blossoming

9. BIRDS.

Let us study the structure of a bird, so that we may see in what respects birds differ from other animals.

The body of a bird is covered with feathers. This is one of the characteristics in which all

birds agree and by which they are distinguished

from all other animals. The general shape of the body is adapted to moving through the air, the trunk being compact and somewhat boat-shaped.

Look especially at the body of the duck.

A bird has two legs, consisting of parts corresponding to those of the lower extremities of man.

Where, then, are the true heel and knee of a bird?

The legs are useful in walking, hopping, or swimming. The feet are divided into toes, varying in

number from two to four, which are always armed with claws.

There are two limbs for flying or swimming, called wings. These consist of parts corresponding to the arm, forearm, and hand of man. The foremost angle of the wing is known as the head or bend of the wing.

To which part of the arm does the bend of the wing correspond?

The wing is furnished throughout its entire length with long feathers or quills. Those on the hand are the primaries, those on the forearm are secondaries, and those on the arm are tertiaries. The small feathers which cover the bases of these quills are wing-coverts.

The tail of a bird is composed of quills arranged in pairs, and serves as a rudder in flying or swimming.

The organ of sight is well developed. Birds distinguish objects at a distance readily. Most birds have no visible external ears.

The mouth is prolonged into a hard beak or bill composed of two parts called mandibles. The mandibles are movable, but are furnished with neither lips nor teeth.

A bird breathes by means of lungs. Besides the lungs there are air-sacs situated in different