One fine day, they found that the lion was so close upon them that they could not escape. Then the little Mrs. Jackal said, "Husband, husband, I feel very frightened. King Lion is so angry he will certainly kill us at once. What can we do?"But Mr. Jackal answered, "Cheer up; we can save ourselves yet. I"ll show you how we can do it. "So these cunning little Jackals went to the great Lion"s den. When he saw them coming he began to roar and shake his mane, and he said, "You little wretches, come and be eaten at once! I have had no dinner for three whole days, and all that time I have been running over hill and dale to find you. Ro-a-ar! Ro-a-ar! Come and be eaten, I say! " And he lashed his tail and gnashed his teeth and looked very terrible indeed. Then Mr. Jackal, creeping quite close up to him, said, "O great King Lion, we all know you are our master, and we would have come at your bidding long ago. But indeed, sir, there is a much bigger king even than you in this jungle. He tried to catch hold of us and eat us up, and he frightened us so much that we had to run away. ""What do you mean? " growled King Lion. " There is no King in this jungle but me! " "Ah, sir, " answered the Jackal, "it is as we say. We, with our own eyes, haveseen one who is more dreadful even than you. His face is as flaming fire, his step as thunder. " " It is impossible!" interrupted the old Lion. "But show me this king of whom you speak so much, that I may destroy him at once! "Then the little Jackals ran on before him until they reached a great well. Pointing down to the water, they said, "There lives the terrible king. " When King Lion looked down the well he became very angry, for he thought he saw another Lion there. He roared and shook his great mane, and the shadow lion shook his, and looked also very angry. At last, mad with rage, King Lion sprang down to kill his enemy at once. But no other lion was there, and the sides of the well were so steep that he could not get out again to punish the two Jackals, who peeped over the top. After struggling for some time in the deep water, he sank to rise no more. And the little Jackals threw stones down upon him from above, and danced round and round the well, singing, "Ao! Ao! Ao! Ao! The King of the forest is dead, is dead! We have killed the great Lion who would have killed us! Ao! Ao! Ao! Ao! Ring-a-ting-ding-a-ting! Ring-a-ting-ding-a- ting! Ao! Ao! Ao! "About the Author.-Mary Frere (1845-1911), was born in England. When she was eighteen she went to India, where her father was governor of Bombay. She went among the Indian people and learned their favourite stories from them. Then she re-told these stories in English in a book called Old Deccan Days.
About the Story.-How do you know from the first line that the story is not about Eskimos? To what large family does the jackal belong? Do you know another story about an animal and his shadow? Find Bombay and the Deccan in a map of India.
Lesson 19
TALKING IN THEIR SLEEp
"You think I am dead, " the apple-tree said, "Because I have never a leaf to show,Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull, grey mosses over me grow! But I"m all alive in trunk and shoot;The buds of next May I fold away-
But I pity the withered grass at my root. "
"You think I am dead, " the quick grass said, "Because I am withered in stem and blade!
But under the ground I am safe and sound,
With the snow"s thick blanket over me laid. I"m all alive and ready to shootShould the spring of the year Come dancing here,But I pity the flower without branch or root. ""You think I am dead, " a soft voice said, "Because not a branch or root I own!
I never have died, But close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown. Patient I wait through the long winter hours;You will see me again- I shall laugh at you thenOut of the eyes of a hundred flowers. "
-Enid M. Thomas
About the Author.-Enid Thomas is a modern English writer.
About the Poem.-Who are the three speakers? How can you hear the trees and grasses and flowers? In Australia, do the buds come in May? In what places does snow fall? What plumy seeds are sown by the wind? In what other ways do plants scatter their seeds (think of burrs, and the mud on the claws of water-birds, and seed-pods that go "pop," and thistle- down)?
Suggestions for Verse-speaking.-Divide the class into three parts- the apple trees, the quick grass, and the flowers. What lines sound like happy Spring? What lines sound very different? Make sure you show this difference when you are speaking the lines.
Lesson 20
mR. AND mRS. pLATypuS AND FAmILy
Mr. and Mrs. Platypus lived in a water-hole. The creek, rippling over the stones, widened out and deepened in one place, forming a sort of tiny lake. Then there was a waterfall, and the creek became narrow again, and rushed on towards the river.
In the water-hole, the water was still and quiet. This was just what Mr. and Mrs. Platypus wanted.
Mr. Platypus was a very queer creature, something like a bird, something like a snake, and something like a beast.
First, he had a bill, just as a bird has. For this reason he was sometimes called Mr. Duckbill. The bill was wide like that of a duck, only it had a skin all round the edge, by means of which the platypus could feel anything almost as well as you can with the tip of your finger.
He was also web-footed like a duck, and on his two front feet the web came out, beyond his toes. This web would have been in the way when he wanted to burrow, but he was able to fold it up nicely underneath his foot.
His bones were nearly all just like the bones of a snake, and his wife laid eggs as snakes and birds do.
But then he was like a beast, too. He was about the size of a large rat, but he had hardly any legs, only feet.
He was covered with dark fur, short and soft underneath, but longer on his back. Wasn"t he a queer kind of animal?
Drawn by John Rowell
Mr. and Mrs. Platypus
On the hind part of his foot was a spur, which held poison. This spur he could thrust into anything that tried to hurt him.
In his mouth were pouches in which to store food, and for teeth he had only two hard, sharp gums.
