THE LIT-TLE SWANS' LESSON.
Once there was a fair swan with a coal-black neck. She had three pret-ty ba-by swans, but they were lazy lit-tle things. They did not wish to pick their own bugs, nor cut their own grass-salads, nor to swim. They wished to take their bugs and grass from their moth-er's bill, and to go up stream and down on her back. It was a pleasure to their moth-er to feed them and to give them rides. But she knew they must be taught to seek their own food, and to swim up and down.
When she spoke to them a-bout it, they said, "Next week we will." Next week one of them did keep her word and swim, and seek her own bugs, and nip grass for her-self. But the others still sat on their moth-er's back. So one day when she was out in the stream, and they were catching but-ter-flies from her back, the moth-er swan—with a fun-ny smile at her good child—dived, heels o-ver head, and let the lazy swans fall off. Then up she came and swam off as fast as she could, in among the reeds, where she stayed all night. By morn-ing her lit-tle swans had learned their lesson.
