The Beacon Second Reader by James H. Fassett
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James H. Fassett >> The Beacon Second Reader
THE
BEACON SECOND READER
BY
JAMES H. FASSETT
GINN AND COMPANY
BOSTON - NEW YORK - CHICAGO - LONDON
ATLANTA - DALLAS - COLUMBUS - SAN FRANCISCO
COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY JAMES H. FASSETT
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
431.1
The Athenaeum Press
GINN AND COMPANY - PROPRIETORS -
BOSTON - U.S.A.
PREFACE
In the "Beacon Second Reader" the author has chosen for his stories only
those of recognized literary merit; and while it has been necessary to
rearrange and sometimes rewrite them for the purpose of simplification,
yet he has endeavored to retain the spirit which has served to endear
these ancient tales to the children of all ages. 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.
As a test of this theory the author asked hundreds of second-grade and
third-grade school children to recall the stories which they had read
during the preceding year, and to express their preferences. 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! Even a pupil who is naturally slow will wade painfully and
laboriously through a fairy story, while he would throw down in disgust
an account of the sprouting of the bean or the mining of coal.
It can hardly be questioned, moreover, that the real culture which the
child derives from these literary classics is far greater than that
which he would gain from the "information" stories so common in the
average second and third readers.
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE SHIP _Old English Rhyme_ 13
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN YOUNG KIDS _William and Jacob Grimm_ 14
THEY DIDN'T THINK _Phoebe Cary_ 22
TOM THUMB _English Fairy Tale_ 24
SUPPOSE _Alice Cary_ 34
CINDERELLA _English Fairy Tale_ 36
RAINDROPS _Ann Hawkshawe_ 43
THE FOUR FRIENDS _William and Jacob Grimm_ 44
LITTLE BIRDIE _Alfred Tennyson_ 54
MOTHER FROST _William and Jacob Grimm_ 55
IF EVER I SEE _Lydia Maria Child_ 65
WHY THE BEAR'S TAIL IS SHORT _German Folk Tale_ 66
RUMPELSTILTSKIN _William and Jacob Grimm_ 70
BED IN SUMMER _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 81
THE GOLDEN TOUCH _Greek Myth_ 82
OVER IN THE MEADOW _Olive A. Wadsworth_ 89
THE BELL OF ATRI _German Folk Tale_ 92
THE BABY _Hugh Miller_ 96
BRUCE AND THE SPIDER _Scottish Tradition_ 97
THE WISE LITTLE PIG _Anonymous_ 100
AN INDIAN STORY 102
A GOOD PLAY _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 112
DICK WHITTINGTON _English Folk Tale_ 113
THE NEW MOON _Eliza Lee Follen_ 124
BRIAR ROSE _William and Jacob Grimm_ 126
ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL _Mrs. C.F. Alexander_ 135
THE BAKER BOYS AND THE BEES _German Folk Tale_ 136
FALLING SNOW _Anonymous_ 142
LITTLE GOODY TWO SHOES _Ascribed to Goldsmith_ 143
ONE STEP AND THEN ANOTHER _Anonymous_ 157
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD MORNING _Lord Houghton_ 158
DAVID AND GOLIATH _Adapted from the Bible_ 160
PHONETIC TABLES 167
[Illustration]
THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES--I
shoemaker beautiful to-morrow leather
already bought sew enough
A shoemaker and his wife lived in a little house on the edge of a wood.
They were very, very poor, and each day they grew poorer and poorer.
At last there was nothing left in the house but leather for one pair of
shoes.
"I will cut out this last pair of shoes," the shoemaker said to his
wife.
"To-morrow I will sew them and peg them."
So he cut out the leather and left it on his bench.
The next morning he went into his shop to make the shoes.
What did he see!
A pair of shoes, all nicely made and ready to be sold.
The stitches were so fine and the shoes so well made that they were
quickly sold.
With the money the poor shoemaker bought leather for two pairs of shoes.
Then he said to his wife, "I will cut out the leather for two pairs of
shoes.
To-morrow I will sew them and peg them."
So he cut out the leather for the shoes and left it on his bench.
The next morning when he went into his shop to make the shoes, what did
he find!
[Illustration]
Yes, there were two pairs of shoes already made.
The work was so well done that those shoes were also sold very quickly.
With the money the poor shoemaker bought enough leather for four pairs
of shoes.
Those he also cut out and left upon his bench.
The next morning he found four pairs of beautiful shoes, all well made.
And so it went on and on. Instead of being a very poor shoemaker, he
became a very rich shoemaker.
His shoes were so well made that even the queen herself wore them.
[Illustration]
THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES--II
At last the shoemaker said to his wife, "We must find out who makes the
shoes."
So one bright moonlight night they hid behind a curtain, where they
could watch the bench and not be seen.
Just on the stroke of midnight, two little elves jumped through the
window.
They went skipping and dancing up to the bench.
Sitting cross-legged they took up the leather and began to work.
How their needles flew back and forth, back and forth!
How their little hammers beat rap-a-tap-tap, rap-a-tap-tap!
Almost before the shoemaker and his wife could think, the work was all
done.
The tiny elves ran about, skipping and dancing, skipping and dancing.
Then, whisk! quick as a wink, they were gone.
The next morning the good shoemaker said to his wife, "What can we do
for those dear little elves?"
"I should like very much to make some clothes for them," said his wife.
"They were almost naked."
"If you will make their coats, I will make them some shoes," said the
shoemaker. "Their little feet were bare."
When the clothes and shoes were ready, they were put upon the bench.
[Illustration]
The shoemaker and his wife again hid behind the curtain.
Just as before, when the clock struck twelve, in jumped the tiny elves.
They went skipping and dancing, skipping and dancing, to their work.
They saw the little coats, the tiny stockings, and the neat little
shoes.
They clapped their hands for joy.
Then, slipping on their clothes, they skipped, hand in hand, out of the
window.
The shoemaker and his wife never saw the little elves again, but after
that night, good luck seemed always to be with them.
_English Folk Tale_
THE SHIP
laden move
I saw a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing on the sea;
And, oh, it was all laden
With pretty things for thee!
There were comfits in the cabin,
And apples in the hold;
The sails were made of silk,
And the masts were made of gold.
The four and twenty sailors
That stood between the decks
Were four and twenty white mice,
With chains about their necks.
The captain was a duck,
With a jacket on his back;
And when the ship began to move,
The captain said, "Quack! quack!"
_Old English Rhyme_
[Illustration]
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN YOUNG KIDS--I
quietly rough piece scissors
learned thought chalk youngest
There was once an old goat who had seven little kids.
She loved them all as much as any mother ever loved her children.
One day the old goat wished to go into the woods to get food for her
kids.
Before she started she called them all to her and said:
"Dear children, I am going into the woods.
Now do not open the door while I am away.
If the old wolf should get into our hut, he would eat you all up, and
not a hair would be left.
You can easily tell him by his rough voice and his black feet."
"Dear mother," cried all the young kids, "we will be very careful not to
let the old wolf in.
You need not think of us at all, for we shall be quite safe."
So the old goat went on her way into the dark woods.
She had not been gone long when there came a loud rap at the door, and a
voice cried:
"Open the door, my dear children. I have something here for each of
you."
But the young kids knew by the rough voice that this was the old wolf.
So one of them said, "We shall not open the door. Our mother's voice is
soft and gentle. Your voice is rough. You are a wolf."
The old wolf ran away to a shop, where he ate a piece of white chalk to
make his voice soft.
Then he went back to the goat's hut and rapped at the door.
He spoke in a soft voice and said, "Open the door for me, my dear
children. I am your mother."
But the oldest little goat thought of what his mother had said.
"If you are our mother, put your foot on the window sill, that we may
see it."
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."
[Illustration]
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.
When the little kids saw that it was white, they thought this was really
their mother, and they opened the door.
In jumped the ugly old wolf, and all the little kids ran to hide
themselves.
The first hid under the table, the second in the bed, the third in the
oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the sixth
under the washtub, and the seventh, who was the smallest of all, in the
tall clock.
The wolf quickly found and gobbled up all but the youngest, who was in
the clock.
Then the wolf, who felt sleepy, went out and lay down on the green
grass.
Soon he was fast asleep.
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN YOUNG KIDS--II
Not long after this the old goat came home from the woods.
Ah, what did she see! The house door was wide open; the tables and
chairs were upset.
The washtub was broken in pieces, and the bed was tipped over.
"Where are my dear children?" cried the poor goat.
At last she heard a little voice crying, "Dear mother, here I am in the
tall clock."
The old goat helped the little goat out.
Soon she learned how the wolf had eaten her dear children.
Then she went out of the hut, and there on the grass lay the wolf sound
asleep.
As the goat looked at the wicked old wolf, she thought she saw something
jumping about inside him.
"Ah," she said, "it may be that my poor children are still alive."
So she sent the little kid into the house for a pair of scissors and a
needle and some thread.
She quickly cut a hole in the side of the wicked old wolf.
At the first snip of the scissors, one of the kids stuck out his head.
As the old goat cut, more and more heads popped out.
At last all six of the kids jumped out upon the grass.
They went hopping and skipping about their mother.
Then the old goat said to them, "Go and bring me some large stones from
the brook."
The seven little kids ran off to the brook and soon came back with seven
large stones.
They put these stones inside the wicked old wolf.
[Illustration]
The old goat sewed up the wolf's side so gently and quietly that he did
not wake up nor move.
When at last the wicked wolf did wake up, the great stones inside him
made him feel very heavy.
He was thirsty, too, so he walked down to the brook to drink.
The stones were so heavy that they tipped him over the edge of the bank
into the deep water, and he was drowned.
WILLIAM AND JACOB GRIMM
THEY DIDN'T THINK
danger folks seized
Once a trap was baited
With a piece of cheese;
It tickled so a little mouse,
It almost made him sneeze.
An old rat said, "There's danger,
Be careful where you go!"
"Nonsense!" said the other,
"I don't think you know!"
So he walked in boldly--
Nobody in sight--
First he took a nibble,
Then he took a bite;
Close the trap together
Snapped as quick as wink,
Catching mousey fast there,
'Cause he didn't think.
Once there was a robin,
Lived outside the door,
Who wanted to go inside
And hop upon the floor.
"No, no," said the mother,
"You must stay with me;
Little birds are safest
Sitting in a tree."
"I don't care," said Robin,
And gave his tail a fling,
"I don't think the old folks
Know quite everything."
Down he flew, and kitty seized him
Before he'd time to blink;
"Oh," he cried, "I'm sorry,
But I didn't think."
PHOEBE CARY
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
TOM THUMB--I
thumb people suit reins fought
frightened brought thistledown
In the days of King Arthur, there lived a wise man named Merlin.
He knew all the fairies and where they lived.
Even the fairy queen was a friend of his.
Once, while he was traveling, night overtook him in a deep forest.
He rapped at the door of a small cottage and asked for some food.
Merlin looked so hungry and poor that the farmer and his wife took pity
on him.
They not only gave him a bowl of milk with some brown bread, but they
said he might stay through the night.
Merlin saw that, in spite of their pleasant cottage, both the farmer and
his wife were very sad.
"Why are you sad?" asked Merlin.
"You seem to have a good farm, a pleasant cottage, and many things to
make you happy."
"Ah!" said the woman, "we are unhappy because we have no child.
I should be the happiest woman in the world if I had a son.
Why, even if he were no bigger than my husband's thumb, we should love
him dearly."
"That would be indeed a very strange kind of child," said Merlin, "but
I hope you may have your wish."
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."
TOM THUMB--II
Soon after this the good farmer's wife had a son. He was, indeed, just
the size of his father's thumb.
People came from far and wide to see the tiny boy.
One day the fairy queen and some other fairies came to see him.
The queen kissed the little boy and named him Tom Thumb.
[Illustration]
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.
One day his mother was mixing a pudding.
Tom leaned over the edge of the bowl to see how it was made.
He slipped, and in he went, head first.
His mother did not see him fall, and kept stirring and stirring the
pudding.
Tom could not see nor hear, but he kicked and kicked inside the pudding.
The pudding moved and tossed about.
His mother was afraid.
She did not know what to think.
"There must be witches in it," she said.
She went to the window to throw the pudding out.
Just then a poor beggar was passing by the house.
"Here is a pudding you may have, if you like," said Tom's mother.
The beggar thanked her and put it into his basket.
He had not gone very far, when Tom got his head out of the pudding and
shouted in a shrill voice:
"Take me out! take me out!"
The poor beggar was so frightened that he dropped his basket, pudding
and all, and ran off as fast as he could.
Tom crawled out of the pudding, climbed out of the basket, and ran home.
His mother washed him and put him to bed.
TOM THUMB--III
Not long after this Tom's mother took him with her when she went to milk
the cow.
That he might not get lost, she tied him to a wisp of hay.
When Tom's mother was not looking, the cow took the wisp of hay into her
mouth.
She began to chew and chew.
Tom began to jump about and shout.
He frightened the cow so that she opened her great mouth and out Tom
jumped.
Then Tom's mother took him in her apron and ran with him to the house,
but he was not hurt in the least.
[Illustration]
One day Tom was in the field helping his father.
"Let me drive the horse home," said Tom "You drive the horse!" said his
father.
"How could you hold the reins?"
"I could stand in the horse's ear and tell him which way to go," said
Tom.
So his father put him in the horse's ear, and he drove safely home.
"Mother! mother!" cried Tom.
But when Tom's mother came out, she could see no one.
She began to be afraid.
"Where are you, Tom?" she cried.
"Here I am in the horse's ear. Please take me down," said Tom.
His mother lifted him gently down, kissed him, and gave him a blackberry
for his supper.
Tom's father made him a whip out of a straw.
Tom tried to drive the cows, but he fell into a deep ditch.
There a great bird saw him and thought he was a mouse.
The bird seized Tom in her claws and carried him toward her nest.
As they were passing over the sea, Tom got away and fell into the water,
where a great fish swallowed him at one mouthful.
Soon after this the fish was caught, and it was such a big one that it
was sent at once to King Arthur.
When the cook cut open the fish, out jumped Tom Thumb. Tom was brought
before the king, and his story was told.
TOM THUMB--IV
The king grew very fond of Tom and his wise sayings. He took Tom with
him wherever he went.
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.
[Illustration]
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.
Tom was put to bed, but he did not die.
No indeed! he was soon well again, and fought many brave battles and did
many brave deeds to please the king.
_English Fairy Tale_
[Illustration]
SUPPOSE
wouldn't pouring earnest lady
Suppose, my little lady,
Your doll should break her head,
Could you make it whole by crying
Till your eyes and nose are red?
And wouldn't it be better far
To treat it as a joke,
And say you're glad 'twas Dolly's,
And not your head that broke?
Suppose you're dressed for walking,
And the rain comes pouring down,
Will it clear off any sooner
Because you scold and frown?
And wouldn't it be nicer
For you to smile than pout,
And so make sunshine in the house
When there is none without?
Suppose your task, my little man,
Is very hard to get,
Will it make it any easier
For you to sit and fret?
And wouldn't it be wiser
Than waiting like a dunce,
To go to work in earnest,
And learn the thing at once?
ALICE CARY
[Illustration]
CINDERELLA--I
Once upon a time there lived a maiden named Cinderella.
Her mother was dead, and she had to work very, very hard in the kitchen.
She had two older sisters, but they were cross to little Cinderella.
They made her stay among the pots and the kettles and do all the hard
work about the house.
Sometimes, to keep warm, she crept in among the cinders.
That is why she was called Cinderella.
One day the sisters came dancing into the house. "We have been invited
to the king's ball," they cried.
At length the day of the great ball came, and the two sisters rode away
in their fine silk dresses.
Poor Cinderella, who had to stay behind, looked at her old ragged
clothes, and burst into tears.
"Alas," she cried, "why should I always have to stay in the kitchen
while my sisters dress in silks and satins?"
Hardly had she spoken when there stood before her a dear little old lady
with a golden wand in her hand.
"My child," she cried, "I am your fairy godmother, and you shall go to
the ball, too.
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.
"But how am I to go in these clothes?" said Cinderella.
"Ah, let me see," said the fairy, and she slowly waved her wand over the
maiden's head.
[Illustration]
Oh, what a change!
The rags tumbled to the floor.
And, what do you think! in their place was a beautiful pink silk dress.
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.
Cinderella had such a good time that she forgot about the clock.
It began to strike twelve--one, two, three.
Cinderella ran from the room.
Down the steps of the palace she flew.
She ran so fast that she lost one of her little glass slippers.
The clock finished striking.
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 prince hunted far and wide for a maiden who could put it on. Many
tried, but none could do it.
At last he came to the house where Cinderella lived. The two older
sisters tried and tried to put the slipper on their large feet.
While the prince was waiting, Cinderella came into the room.
"Let me try it," she said.
"You!" cried the older sisters. "You could never put it on."
"Let her try it," said the prince.
At once the little glass slipper was fitted to the tiny foot.
[Illustration]
Then Cinderella stood up; her ragged clothes turned into a beautiful
silk dress, and there were two little slippers on her two little feet.
Then the prince knew that Cinderella was the one he had danced with at
the ball, and taking her hand, he led her out to his coach.
Soon they were married and lived happily ever after.
_English Fairy Tale_
RAINDROPS
Oh, where do you come from,
You little drops of rain,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Down the windowpane?
Tell me, little raindrops,
Is that the way you play?
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
All the rainy day?
I sit here at the window;
I've nothing else to do;
Oh, I wish that I could play,
This rainy day, with you!
The little raindrops cannot speak,
But "pitter-patter-pat"
Means, "We can play on this side,
Why can't you play on that?"
ANN HAWKSHAWE
[Illustration]
THE FOUR FRIENDS--I
comb music giants chief
Once upon a time a man had a donkey.
His donkey had worked for him many years.