James H. Fassett

“ When the giant saw that David was only a boy, he was angry and cried out:
"Do you dare fight with me? I will kill you, and will give your flesh to the birds and the beasts."
David looked at him without fear and said, "You come against me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord. This day will he give you into my hand. I will kill you and take your head from you, and I will give the bodies of the Philistines to the birds and the beasts." ”

“ She cried in a loud voice, "When the princess is fifteen years old she shall prick her finger with a spindle and shall fall down dead."
At these words every one turned pale with fright.
The twelfth wise woman, who had not yet spoken, now came up and said:
"I could not stop this woman's evil words, I can only make them less harsh.
The king's child shall not die, but a deep sleep shall fall upon her, in which she shall stay one hundred years." ”

“ They had not gone far when they saw a cat sitting in a yard.
He looked as sad as three days of rainy weather.
"What's the matter with you, old Tom?" asked the donkey.
"You would be sad, too," said the cat, "if you were in my place; for now that I am getting old and cannot catch mice, they wish to drown me. I have run away, but how I am going to live, I do not know."
"Come with us to Bremen," said the donkey. "We are going to play in the band.
I know you love music, as you sing so well at night. You too can join the band."
"That is just what I should like to do," said the cat. ”

“ When the wolf had done this, all the little goats cried out, "No, you are not our mother. We shall not open the door. Our mother's feet, are white and yours are black. Go away; you are the wolf."
Then the wolf went to the miller's, and said to him, "Mr. Miller, put some flour on my foot, for I have hurt it."
The miller was so afraid of the wolf that he did as he was told.
Then the wicked wolf went to the goat's house again and said, "Open the door, dear children, for I am your mother."
"Show us your foot," said the little kids.
So the wolf put his one white foot on the window sill. ”

“ And then she held out her hand to take the spindle.
It came about just as the fairy had foretold.
The princess pricked her finger with the spindle.
At once she fell upon a bed which was near, and lay in a deep sleep as if dead.
This sleep came not only upon the princess, but spread over the whole castle.
The king and queen, who had just come home, fell asleep, and all their lords and ladies with them.
The horses went to sleep in the stable; the dogs in the yard; the doves on the roof; the flies on the wall; yes, even the fire that burned in the fireplace grew still and slept. ”

“ What fun Dick's cat had killing the rats and mice in the king's palace!
"We must buy that little animal," said the queen. "I do not care how much she may cost."
The captain could hardly carry all the jewels and gold that the king gave him for the cat.
Then the ship with Dick's money came back to London, and the captain told the story to Mr. Fitzwarren.
"We must take these jewels and all this gold at once to Mr. Whittington," said the honest man. "He is no longer a poor boy, for this has made him rich."
They found Dick in the kitchen blacking the stove. ”

“ The cook in the kitchen was just going to box the ears of the kitchen boy, but her hand dropped and she sank to sleep.
Outside the castle the wind was still, and upon the trees not a leaf stirred.
In a short time there sprung up around the castle a hedge of thorn bushes.
Year by year the hedge grew higher and higher, until at last nothing of the castle could be seen above it, not even the roof, nor the chimneys, nor the flag on the tower. ”

“ The king and queen first gave the captain a great feast.
Gold and silver dishes filled with food were brought in.
When these dishes were placed upon the table an army of rats came out.
There were white rats, and black rats, and brown rats, and big rats, and little rats.
At once they fell upon the food and ate it nearly all up.
"Why do you let the rats do this?" asked the captain.
"Alas, we cannot help ourselves," said the king. "I would give half my kingdom to be rid of them."
Then the captain thought of Dick Whittington's cat. ”

“ One day the fairy queen and some other fairies came to see him.
The queen kissed the little boy and named him Tom Thumb.
Each of the other fairies made Tom a gift.
He had a shirt made of silk from a spider's web, a coat of thistledown, a hat made from the leaf of an oak, tiny shoes made from a mouse's skin, and many other gifts besides.
Tom never grew any larger than a man's thumb, but he could do many clever tricks. ”

“ First go into the garden, Cinderella, and bring to me the largest pumpkin you can find."
When Cinderella had done this, the fairy waved her golden wand over the yellow pumpkin.
In a flash, it was not a pumpkin at all, but a beautiful yellow coach.
"Now bring me four white mice, two large ones and two small ones."
In a moment Cinderella brought a trap full of mice into the room.
The fairy waved her golden wand, and the two largest mice were turned into two snow-white horses.
Two small mice became two men, one a coachman, the other a footman. ”

“ If it began to rain, Tom would creep into the king's pocket and sleep until the rain was over.
The king had a new suit made for Tom, and gave him a needle for a sword.
A mouse was trained for Tom to ride.
The king and queen never tired of seeing him ride his queer little horse and bravely wave his sword.
One day, as they were going hunting, a cat jumped out and caught Tom's mouse.
Tom drew his sword and tried to drive the cat away.
The king ran to help poor Tom, but the little mouse was dead, and Tom was scratched and bitten. ”

“ All the world must know that Two Shoes was not her real name. No; her father's name was Meanwell, and he was for many years a well-to-do farmer.
While Margery (for that was her real name) was yet a little girl her father became very poor. He was so poor that at last he and Margery's mother and Margery and her little brother were all turned out of doors. They did not have a roof to cover their heads.
Margery's father felt so unhappy that at last he died, and only a few days later Margery's mother died, too. Poor little Margery and her brother were left alone in the wide world. ”

“ Now Merlin was on his way to call on the queen of the fairies.
When he came to her castle the next day, he told the fairy queen the wish of the farmer's wife.
The queen of the fairies said, "The good woman shall have her wish. I will give her a son no larger than her husband's thumb." ”

“ The choice of more than ninety per cent proved to be either folklore stories, pure and simple, or such tales as contained the folklore element. To be sure, children like other stories, but they respond at once with sparkling eyes and animated voices when the fairy tale is suggested. How unwise, therefore, it is to neglect this powerful stimulus which lies ready at our hands! ”

“ Lo! the coach turned into a pumpkin.
The horses and men turned into mice.
Poor Cinderella had to walk home in her ragged clothes.
The next morning the prince found Cinderella's little glass slipper on the stairs.
"There is only one maiden in all the world who can wear so tiny a slipper," said the prince. "I will marry her and no other." ”

“ The poor girl saw no other way to save her life, so she gave her promise to the little man.
Then he sat down and began to spin.
Whir! whir! went the wheel. Faster and faster he spun.
Soon the great roomful of straw was all turned into gold.
When the king opened the door the next morning, he saw the maiden sitting beside a large heap of shining gold.
The king kept his promise, and made the poor miller's daughter his queen. ”

“ The ugly shoes fell off.
And, lo! a tiny pair of glass slippers were on Cinderella's little feet.
"Now listen to what I say," said the fairy godmother. "You must not stay after the clock strikes twelve.
At that time your coach will again be a pumpkin, the men will be mice, and you will have on your old ragged dress."
Cinderella said she would not forget.
Then she jumped into the coach, and away she drove to the king's ball.
CINDERELLA—II
The king's son was charmed with Cinderella.
She was so very beautiful that he would dance with her and with no one else. ”

“ This is what Margery gave them to read:
"He that will thrive must rise by five."
"Truth can be blamed, but cannot be shamed."
"A friend in your need is a friend indeed."
"A wise head makes a close mouth."
"A lie stands upon one leg, but truth upon two."
"A good boy will make a good man."
"Honor your parents and the world will honor you."
"Love your friends and your friends will love you."
Did you ever read lines like these in your school reader?
LITTLE GOODY TWO SHOES—IV
At last Margery grew up and was given a real school to teach and a real schoolroom to teach in. ”

“ It was in the springtime, and green shoots and leaves hung from the grapevine rope.
Near Atri, there lived a rich old soldier.
This soldier owned a horse that had been with him through many battles.
The horse had grown old and lame, and was no longer able to work.
So his cruel master turned him out into the streets to get his living as best he could.
"If you cannot find enough to eat, then you may die," said the miser; "you are of no use to me." ”

“ The fairy story appeals particularly to children who are in the second school year. It has been proved by our ablest psychologists that at about this period of development, children are especially susceptible to the stimulus of the old folklore. They are in fact passing through the stage which corresponds to the dawn of the human race, when demons, dragons, fairies, and hobgoblins were as firmly believed in as rivers and mountains. ”

“ See what a fine, strong fellow he is, and how he trudges along.
Margery also had a present of a little dog. His name was Jumper. Look at him sitting up and begging in the picture.
Did you ever see a dog with such bright eyes? He almost seems able to talk.
Jumper, Jumper, Jumper! He was always playing and jumping about, and Jumper was a good name for him. His place was just outside the door. See how he sits, the saucy fellow!
LITTLE GOODY TWO SHOES—V
One day Jumper came whining into the schoolroom. He took hold of Margery's dress and pulled and pulled. ”

“ Full of sorrow, he lay stretched on a pile of straw in the poor woodchopper's hut. While he lay thinking, he noticed a spider spinning her web.
The spider was trying to spin a thread from one beam of the cottage to another. It was a long way between the beams, and Bruce saw how hard a thing it was for her to do.
"She can never do it," thought the king.
The little spider tried it once and failed She tried it twice and failed. The king counted each time. At length she had tried it six times and had failed each time.
"She is like me," thought the king. "I have tried six battles and failed. ”

“ The vowel must be sounded with the preceding consonants.
The correct pronunciation of wh is important. In reality the h is sounded before the w, and in the oldest English it was so written. This table combines the features of the two previous tables.
In the following words the vowel is long because of the final e.
The following words illustrate the effect of final e in lengthening the vowel otherwise short. Final se usually has the sound of ze.
Before r the sounds of the vowels a, e, i, and u are greatly modified. These combinations occur so frequently that much drill is required. ”

“ They like to lie late in their beds. If we attack the city at sunrise, we shall capture it before they can get their eyes open."
This plan seemed wise to the people of Lintz, and in army was soon ready to march against the city of Andernach.
One dark night the army crept softly toward the walls of the sleeping city.
THE BAKER BOYS AND THE BEES—II
The only people who rose early in Andernach were the bakers. They had to have fresh bread ready for breakfast.
After their work was done the bakers used to have a morning nap, but the baker boys had to stay awake and watch the loaves of bread. ”

“ Baby says, like little birdie,
Let me rise and fly away.
Baby, sleep a little longer,
Till the little limbs are stronger.
If she sleeps a little longer,
Baby too shall fly away.
ALFRED TENNYSON
MOTHER FROST—I
At the edge of a wood there was a great, clear, bubbling spring of cold water. ”

“ John was given his share of the bird and a handful of parched Indian corn.
The Indians looked at John's skates, which still hung over his shoulder.
They did not know what skates were. They thought they must be some of the white man's magic. ”

“ Across the valley from this mountain and on the side of another mountain was the camp of the Philistines.
After David had come to the camp and had found his brothers, shouts of anger and fear came from the soldiers. ”

“ Smith had a friend who was a very wealthy man. When he heard the story about Margery and Tommy, this man gave Mr. Smith some money to buy little Margery a new pair of shoes and Tommy a new suit of clothes. ”

“ The next place Margery came to was Farmer Simpson's, and here it is.
"Bowwow, wow," said the dog at the door.
"Be still, sir," said Mrs. Simpson. "Why do you bark at little Two Shoes? Come, Alice, here is Goody Two Shoes ready to teach you."
Then out came the little one.
"Well, Alice," said Two Shoes, "have you learned your lesson?"
"Yes, indeed, I have," said the little one, and taking the letters, she formed them in this way:
ba be bi bo bu da de di do du
fa fe fi fo fu ha he hi ho hu
As she formed them she gave their exact sounds. ”