LESSON LVI.
WHEN TO SAY NO.
1. Though "No" is a very little word, it is not always easy to say it; and the not doing so, often causes trouble.
THIRD READER. 145 2. When we are asked to stay away from school, and spend in idleness or mischief the time which ought to be spent in study, we should at once say "No." 3. When we are urged to loiter on our way to school, and thus be late, and interrupt our teacher and the school, we should say "No." When some schoolmate wishes us to whisper or play in the schoolroom, we should say "No." 4. When we are tempted to use angry or wicked words, we should remember that the eye of God is always upon us, and should say "No." 5. When we have done anything wrong, and are tempted to conceal it by falsehood, we should say "No, we can not tell a lie; it is wicked and cowardly." 6. If we are asked to do anything which we know to be wrong, we should not fear to say "No." 7. If we thus learn to say "No," we shall avoid much trouble, and be always safe.
3.10.
146 ECLECTIC SERIES. LESSON LVII. WHICH LOVED BEST?
"I love you, mother," said little John;
Then, forgetting work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
Leaving his mother the wood to bring.
2. "I love you, mother," said rosy Nell; "I love you better than tongue can tell;"
THIRD READER. 147
Then she teased and pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.
3. "I love you, mother," said little Fan;
"To-day I'll help you all I can;
How glad I am that school does n't keep!"
So she rocked the baby till it fell asleep.
4. Then, stepping softly, she took the broom,
And swept the floor, and dusted the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and cheerful as child could be.
5. "I love you, mother," again they said—
Three little children going to bed;
How do you think that mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?
Joy Allison.
LESSON LVIII.
JOHN CARPENTER. 1. John Carpenter did not like to buy toys that somebody else had made. He liked the fun of making them himself. The thought that they were his own work delighted him. 2. Tom Austin, one of his playmates, thought a toy was worth nothing unless it cost a great deal of money. He never tried to make anything, but bought all his toys.
148 ECLECTIC SERIES. 3. "Come and look at my horse," said he, one day. "It cost a dollar, and it is such a beauty! Come and see it." 4. John was soon admiring his friend's
horse; and he was examining it carefully, to see how it was made. The same evening he began to make one for himself. 5. He went into the wood shed, and picked
THIRD READER. 149 out two pieces of wood—one for the head of his horse, the other for the body. It took him two or three days to shape them to his satisfaction. 6. His father gave him a bit of red leather for a bridle, and a few brass nails, and his mother found a bit of old fur with which he made a mane and tail for his horse. 7. But what about the wheels? This puzzled him. At last he thought he would go to a turner's shop, and see if he could not get some round pieces of wood which might suit his purpose. 8. He found a large number of such pieces among the shavings on the floor, and asked permission to take a few of them. The turner asked him what he wanted them for, and he told him about his horse. 9. "Oh," said the man, laughing, "if you wish it, I will make some wheels for your horse. But mind, when it is finished, you must let me see it." 10. John promised to do so, and he soon ran home with the wheels in his pocket. The next evening, he went to the turner's shop with his horse all complete, and was told that he was an ingenious little fellow
150 ECLECTIC SERIES. 11. Proud of this compliment, he ran to his friend Tom, crying, "Now then, Tom, here is my horse,—look!" 12. "Well, that is a funny horse," said Tom; "where did you buy it?" "I did n't buy it," replied John; I made it." 13. "You made it yourself! Oh, well, it's a good horse for you to make. But it is not so good as mine. Mine cost a dollar, and yours did n't cost anything." 14. "It was real fun to make it, though," said John, and away he ran with his horse rolling after him. 15. Do you want to know what became of John? Well, I will tell you. He studied hard in school, and was called the best scholar in his class. When he left school, he went to work in a machine shop. He is now a master workman, and will soon have a shop of his own.
THIRD READER. 151
LESSON LIX.
PERSEVERE.
1. The fisher who draws in his net too soon,
Won't have any fish to sell;
The child who shuts up his book too soon,
Won't learn any lessons well.
2. If you would have your learning stay,
Be patient,—do n't learn too fast:
The man who travels a mile each day,
May get round the world at last.