Various

“ He played it with a will, and the boys, and girls too, rallied with a vengeance. The young merchants found their store again a grand centre of attraction.
The monkey seemed particularly delighted with it, for, after dancing and bowing on the organ-top a short time, he leaped upon the counter, and before the proprietors knew what he was about he had thrust his paw into the box of rubber balls, and was throwing a ball into the crowd.
A shout of delight greeted this feat. Tom and Bob each made a dive after the monkey, but he dexterously eluded them, and threw another ball. ”

“ Dear Postmistress,—I remember when I was eight or ten years younger than I am now, how hard it used to be for me to find anything new to make for Christmas for all the aunts and cousins, and now, as Christmas is drawing near, my younger sister comes to me and says: "Can not you think of something for Christmas? I want something for Aunt Mary and Aunt Lizzie, something I have not made for them before." I have no doubt that many other little people say the same thing. ”

“ Every now and then we pass a neat little landing-place, surmounted by a painted station house overlooking a tiny patch of stunted shrubs and straggling flowers, doing their best to grow upon a thin smear of soil brought from a distance, and plastered upon the barren, scorching sand. ”

“ By Tuesday the boys had that care-worn look that men acquire when they can't make both ends meet. The other boys really pitied them, and some of them actually bought slate-pencils on their way to school in the afternoon, though they did not need them.
That very afternoon an occurrence took place which threatened to end the boys' store-keeping quite tragically.
An organ grinder, with his red-coated monkey, planted himself just beside the pile of lumber and began to play. This pleased Tom and Bob, who happened to be in sole charge at the time. They enjoyed a monkey's antics as well as any one. ”

“ There are hills and valleys on the bottom of the ocean as well as on the land. We will fancy that some young coral polyps which have been swimming about in the sea settle on the sides of one of these hills, and begin to grow and spread all around it. They will increase also by the deposit of eggs until they form a circular wall.
As the coral wall grows, the lower polyps and the inner ones die, their skeletons forming a solid foundation for all that grow above them. There may be only about an inch of living coral on the outside of the reef. ”

“ True, the water of the lake, salter by far than the sea itself, is buoyant as India rubber; but it is no easy matter for the Arab, already spent with his long swim, to support the huge bulk of the helpless sailor, and the boat seems still a fearfully long way off. ”

“ See that the fur is sleek and glossy, for dry, ruffled-looking fur is a sure sign the animal is sick, or pining so for the woods that he will not live very long in a cage. Observe well if the feet are clean, for if they are dirty, he has lost all pride in his appearance, which is another sign of homesickness or some equally serious ailment. The eyes should be bright, and the teeth perfectly white. Yellow teeth are a sign of age, and it is as difficult to tame a very old squirrel as it is to keep him alive in captivity. ”

“ Then there is a little animal known by the boys as a chipmunk, which some naturalists declare is a member of the squirrel family, while others give it the name of dormouse. It makes a good pet, but must be kept in a warm place, and besides the usual food for squirrels it requires milk.
The black squirrel is the largest of its species, and while it will live in a cage, is rarely a tractable animal, requiring a vast amount of patience to induce it even to take its food when any one is looking at it. ”

“ But, strange as it may appear, the soft jelly-like bodies of the polyps give to the reef the power of resisting the billows.
The inner surface of the wall slopes gently to the land, and being washed by quiet waters often containing sand and mud, it is not favorable to the growth of polyps. Still, there are certain kinds of coral which thrive within the lagoons; some of them are exceedingly brilliant and beautiful. ”

“ Perhaps the grandest reef to be found in any part of the world is the one extending along the northeast coast of Australia. It is nearly one thousand miles in length, and proves to us that the helpless coral polyps have played no trifling part in the formation of our earth. All they have accomplished has been done merely by their living and growing. ”

“ Miss Phyllis said nothing, but led the way back to the hats, and Nan, unable to restrain herself further, whispered, "Miss Rolf, Cousin Phyllis, why did you say I was going to live at Beverley, when it is only a visit?"
Miss Phyllis bit her lip angrily. "Never mind," was all she answered; and then the brown felt hat was chosen, and the purchases went on—gloves, and boots, and some dainty under-linen, and various small belongings, until finally all that remained on Miss Phyllis's list was a dressing-case and a trunk. ”

“ It seems scarcely possible that the dainty beautiful corals which we examined not long ago in Young People can have anything to do with the making of islands, but so it is. Coral reefs are vast masses of coral which have grown in warm oceans. Their formation must have been slow, yet they sometimes extend hundreds of miles. Florida and many other parts of our solid continents are known to have been formed from coral reefs. ”

“ Having made the selection of just such a one as you want for a pet, give him all the comfort possible in the way of a cage. It is better to have a large rough one than a small neat looking one; and if it is not possible to buy a large cage, make one yourself, and the squirrel will be pleased at the absence of style because of the increased facilities for moving about. ”

“ Keep a small dish of water in the cage, and see to it carefully that it is changed each day.
In all dealings with the squirrel it is necessary to be gentle and patient with him, if it is desired to make of him a real pet. Do not force him out of his nest when he goes into it, nor keep him in the wheel when he desires to go into his house. ”

“ We are three little girls who have often read and enjoyed Harper's Young People very much. We meet successively at each other's home every Friday evening, and read the stories in it. We live in a beautiful town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. We three go to the same school, and like our teachers very much. Our parents take all your papers—the Monthly, Bazar, and Weekly—and we take Young People. ”

“ Bob sighed. "Only half a dollar to start the business! It will look mean. I wish I had not got so many glasses of soda-water this season. It's worse than marbles for running away with money."
"We might take in some more partners," said John, after a thoughtful pause.
"But Dick says he don't care about it, and every cent of Sam's money goes for his bantams and pigeons."
"What do you say to asking Tom Fleming?"
"No," said Bob, decisively. "When a gold mine opens before you, keep it all in the family, I say." ”

“ In time our coral reef may become a beautiful tropical island fringed with waving trees and plants, and inhabited by man.
Fig. 2.—An Atoll.
Circular islands seldom form complete rings. There is generally an opening into the lake on the side most sheltered from the wind. A safe harbor in mid-ocean is thus made, in which vessels may take shelter, but it requires an expert navigator to pass the perils at its entrance. To anchor on the outer shore would be impossible. In Fig. 2 is a pretty little coral island with ships in its lagoon. ”

“ He'll be coming to challenge old Jack here to swim a match for the championship of the canal."
"Let him try it," retorts a tall, raw-boned, North Country man behind him. "If that 'ere nigger thinks he can beat me, he'll know better afore long, or my name ain't Jack Hawley."
So saying, Jack strips and plunges in, heading straight for the round black head which is bobbing about like a cork in the smooth water. But just as he reaches the Arab the latter vanishes, and a sharp pinch on his right calf warns Jack that his enemy has taken him in the rear, amid a shout of laughter from the steamer. ”

“ The monkey seemed to be in his element, dancing and jumping from shelf to shelf, grinning and chattering with all his might, and when there was no ball convenient he did not hesitate to throw something else.
The boys grew desperate when they saw their slate-pencils and Jew's-harps flying through the air.
"See here!" they shouted to the organ-grinder, who was now peacefully playing the "Marseillaise Hymn," "this thing is getting dangerous. Take your old monkey away, will you? You'll have to pay for all the damage. Do you hear?" ”

“ The outer edge of the wall is steep and abrupt. Soundings taken just outside show very deep water. In this portion of the wall the corals live and thrive, always supplied with clear water. The breakers dash against it with such fury that apparently the hardest rock must in time yield to the tremendous force of the waves. ”

“ At last Uncle Zed heard a low growl in a thicket, and he had hardly time to raise his gun when out sprang an enormous wolf, and came directly toward him. The old man, almost paralyzed with fright, pulled the trigger, but his hand trembled so that his shot went a yard above the wolf's head, and the animal bounded past him unhurt. Uncle Zed shrieked, "Wolf! wolf!" and a half-dozen men were soon in hot pursuit of the discovered game.
Tom Miller, feeling very disconsolate because he hadn't any gun, had not accompanied the rest ”

“ The spaces between them become filled with substances floating in the ocean, and with pieces of coral which are broken from the reef by the fierce dashing of the waves. The whole forms a solid mass, stronger, perhaps, than any stone masonry. The fragments of coral suffer no serious injury by breaking, but if lodged in some favorable spot they continue to grow. ”

“ When I'm home I live quite near to where you're going to be. Oh, I do lots of things! Boys are so different from girls. I'm captain of our baseball club, for one thing, and we are jolly good cricketers too, I tell you. At home I do all sorts of things. Phyllis and I are great chums; Phyllis is a regular brick." He might have said more, but at this moment Phyllis reappeared. Nan looked at her a little anxiously. ”

“ It is the gray squirrel that is the most contented in captivity, and the most easily tamed; therefore, if one really thinks it necessary to his happiness to make a prisoner of such a liberty-loving little creature, he should procure one of the gray species.
If the reader is a would-be squirrel owner, and proposes to catch one in the woods, he will be obliged to take just the kind of one that is foolish enough to enter his trap ”

“ John had been saving up his money for a long time toward buying a bicycle, and Bob—well, Bob was not so thrifty; there was not much "save" about him, though when it came to needing the money to set him up in business, he saw clearly that he must mend his ways.
"I declare, John," he said, gloomily, "I don't believe I can rake up twenty-five cents toward starting the store. I wish I'd thought of it before. It was only last week I bought ten cents' worth of marbles."
"Put them in stock, and sell out at an advance," suggested John. ”

“ Of the species known to our woods, the most common is the striped squirrel, an industrious little body, fond of his home and family, and seldom given to roving, but one which the confinement of a cage kills in a very short time. ”

“ The seeds take root in the new soil, and young plants begin to appear on the glistening white surface. Floating cocoa-nuts often lodge on the shores, and cocoa-nut-trees are among the first to grow upon them. As the plants drop their leaves and decay, the soil is enriched little by little, and fitted for the home of various animals and birds, which in some mysterious manner find their way to these lonely spots far out at sea. ”

“ A board thirty-six inches long and sixteen wide is quite as small a base for the house and run-around as should be given. Twenty-two inches of this length should be devoted to the dwelling portion, which should be built something after the style of a one-story cottage, with a second floor just at the slope of the roof, so that the attic may serve as sleeping-room and a place to which the squirrel can retire when he is anxious to be hidden from view. ”

“ Muff is a nice name for a kitty.
Let me tell you about a kitty which a little boy friend of mine had for his pet. It was a black kitty, I believe, though I am not sure. He carried it everywhere with him, and when he was practicing one afternoon, he set it on the piano that it might hear him play. It nestled its head cunningly on its tiny paws, and listened with all its might.
Somebody called the little boy away for a moment. When he came back the kitty was gone.
High and low they hunted for it. Mamma, nurse, two little sisters, and even the baby, called Kitty! Kitty! but no kitty answered. ”

“ When once he has learned to have perfect confidence in his master, he will not scruple to take food from his hands, and in a very short time will be bold enough to explore his pockets, going into them bodily, for something to eat that is a trifle better than his regular fare.
NAN. [2] BY MRS. JOHN LILLIE, Author of "Mildred's Bargain," "Aunt Ruth's Temptation," etc. Chapter V.
Nan thought that the delight of this day never could be equalled by anything life would bring, even at Beverley. ”