Various

“ Then he put his hand on his sled, and said, "No! a promise is a promise. Here is what I asked for. I sent word to Mr. Santa Claus what I would do; and it would be mean now if I were to break my promise."
I am glad to say that Robert distributed all the presents, except the sled, among the boys and girls of his acquaintance, whose parents were too poor to spend money on Christmas-gifts.
Uncle Charles was so much pleased with Robert's conduct, that he bought the prettiest pair of skates he could find, and put them on Robert's feet, and told him they were his own. ”

“ At such times it is the custom of shepherds to send a dog after them at the top of his speed. He is not long in overtaking them, when, if the weather be warm, and the lanes narrow and dusty, the sheep are much frightened, and not infrequently are hurt. ”

“ Once the doors of our houses were all blocked up with snow.
The winters here are much colder than in England, where we were born. More snow falls, and thicker ice forms here. But we like our new home very well.
Many young sparrows have been born to us. They are proud of being Americans. They think they are cleverer than their parents, because their parents, you see, are English. Pride is not right, is it? ”

“ I should think you would like to stay in your own house, so neat and comfortable."
"Ugh, ugh!" said piggy.
"Oh! you were lonesome, were you?" said Bob. "You thought it was no more than civil to call on your neighbors. You wanted to show us that you were not too proud to be sociable. Next time please to send in your card first."
"Ugh, ugh!" said piggy.
That was more than a week ago; and piggy has staid at home since then. Perhaps he is waiting for us to return his call. ”

“ In the same way the shepherd informs the second dog [26] that a lot of sheep on a distant hill are to be brought to the spot on which he then stands; and off runs the second dog, and brings the sheep to his master.
Mr. Scott's dog Smart was so trained, that he would never frighten the sheep. In driving a flock from one pasture to another, the sheep would often take a wrong turn, and then scamper off as fast as they could go. ”

“ Oh, how happy they were reading together! By and by she began to try to read the story she had just heard; and soon she learned to read to herself very well.
A black man named John has lived with Mary's father [4] many years. He could not read. Mary felt sorry for John. She thought he would like to read nice stories too.
One day she said, "Mamma, may I teach John to read?" "Yes, dear," said her mother, "if you can."
After tea, Mary's mother looked into the kitchen; and what do you think she saw? John was holding little Mary on his knee, and she was teaching him to read. ”

“ These children used to have rare frolics among themselves. On St. Valentine's eve, they had many letters, most of which, I think, must have been written by Katy.
But among them there was one from Little Red Riding Hood, over whose sad fate Joanna used to cry. As many other children have heard about Red Riding Hood, they will be glad to have good news of her. Here is her letter:—
I send you my picture, dear Johnnie, to show that I'm just as alive as you, and that you needn't cry over my fate any more, as you used to do. ”

“ Smart would never attempt to go ahead of a flock in the usual way: he would manage so that the sheep should not know he was trying to get ahead of them. The picture will show you how he did. Was he not a wise dog?
Uncle Charles.
HOW TWO BOYS PASSED CHRISTMAS
MORNING.
There were two little boys who were cousins. One was named Richard; the other was named Paul. Richard lived where he could see from his chamber-window the Atlantic Ocean. There was a thick clump of trees at the back of his house; and in winter the ground in front would be often covered with snow. ”

“ He loved his little girl; but he thought her much too meddlesome. [10]
II.
One day Bessie was at her aunt's house when the folks were away. But Carlo the dog was at home; and Bessie had her doll Cornelia to play with. At last she placed Cornelia up on the arm-chair with her arms over the back.
Then seeing near by an inkstand, and a bottle of gum with a brush in it, Bessie thought she would amuse herself by painting Carlo's face with ink. This was very silly, and Carlo seemed to think so; for he struggled, and tried to get away. ”