Various

“ None of the rest of us will get a peep into it if it is."
Presently the wagon stopped; and Mr. Trott pulled out a basket, and reading the address, "Master Robert Rand," said, "Is there any boy of that name here?"
A bright little fellow answered quickly, "That is my name."
"Then this basket is yours," said the driver.
"Hurrah for you, Rob!" called out four other boys about his age. "Come on, we'll help you carry it in."
In a few minutes the same boys stood around the basket with eager eyes; and Rob and his cousin Willy were seated on the floor, unpacking it. ”

“ OLD JACK.
EAR me!" exclaimed Mrs. Smith, as she looked from the kitchen-window of her farmhouse; "there are uncle Joe, and aunt Peggy, and all the girls! They have come to tea, I'm certain, and I haven't a speck of green tea in the house. Uncle Joe can't drink any thing else, and he must have white sugar in it too.
"Here, Mike, Mike! take a basket, jump on old Jack, and go to the store just as fast as you can. Get a pound of the [334] best green tea and three pounds of white lump sugar. ”

“ Jimmy's papa has about a hundred horses, as many cows, and a great many hundred sheep. He does not keep them in barns, or feed them with hay, but they roam over the hills, and feed on grass both in winter and summer.
Mr. Mason's house is five miles from any neighbor, and fifteen miles from town. There is no garden or fence round it, and there are no trees to be seen anywhere near. But there are wild flowers in abundance. ”

“ The girls filled their baskets with wild flowers; aunt Jane twined some of them [339] in Kate's hair; and Jennie made a lovely wreath, which she placed on Tom's head.
By and by they all began to feel very hungry. So they opened the lunch-basket under a large tree, and found that mamma had put into it just what they wanted. They had a grand feast. They laughed and sang, and made the old woods ring with their merry voices. At last uncle Tom said, "Now, girls, give us one song more, and then we must be getting ready to go home."
While they were singing, uncle Tom went after the horse. ”

“ Jimmy thinks the blossoms are pretty; but he does not like to pick them. Can you guess why?
Where do you suppose Jimmy goes to school? Well, he goes to his mamma, and he has a very nice teacher. He never gets lonesome; for he has so much to do and so much to think about, that he has no time to be lonesome.
He helps his mother in the house, he takes care of the chickens, he makes friends with the sheep. When he gets a little bigger, he will ride on horseback and help his papa in taking care of the horses and cattle out on the hills.
EMMA MITCHELL.
JESSIE AND HER KITTEN.
MAMMA! ”

“ Several other boys joined them at Rob's invitation, and they soon found a pleasant, shady spot near a cool spring.
"Very handy," said Tom, "for making lemonade."
We have not space to tell all the good things that were said at the feast. In fact, there was no reporter present. But it was a jolly affair. When it was ended, three cheers were given for Robby Rand, and three more for his basket; and then the boys started for home, to wind up the fun with a game of ball. ”

“ The next morning, as soon as the sun peeped out of the east, all the children were up and dressed. By the time breakfast was over, the wagon stood at the door. Into it they climbed one after another. The lunch-basket was packed in safely. Aunt Jane sat on the front seat; uncle Tom jumped up beside her with the reins in his hands; the children shouted "Hurrah!" ”

“ One day, besides the basket, she carried a large fagot, and [330] her apron full of wild flowers and drooping vines. Then I thought I would like to know more about her. So I said, "You look tired, my little girl: will you not sit down under this old tree with me, and tell me where you live, and where you go every day with that big basket?" ”

“ This was all very well; but, when Mike wanted to go on, Jack had changed his mind, and concluded not to go any further.
Mike pulled and pulled on the bridle, trying to turn him back into the road; but the obstinate creature planted his feet firmly, and would not budge an inch.
Just then a kind old Irishman came, on the little foot-bridge, over the brook, and Mike called to him to know what he should do. "Sure, you must have a stick, sonny," said the man. "Donkeys won't go without the stick." ”

“ Between them there is a cocoanut-grove, near which there is a nice place for sea-bathing. As it is a short drive from town, we often go there to bathe, and have great fun. We have no winter here, and it is never too cold to bathe. ”