Printed in U.S.A.

CONTENTS

Page
How the New Year Knows When to Come[9]
About the Telegraph[12]
How the Military Salute Came[14]
Candlemas Day[16]
Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday[18]
About Valentines[21]
Why We Celebrate George Washington’s Birthday[24]
About Boy Scouts[26]
St. Patrick’s Day[28]
Lent[31]
Palm Sunday[32]
The Story of the Bible[33]
Good Friday[35]
About Easter[37]
Trailing Arbutus or Mayflower[39]
About Pearls[42]
About Mr. and Mrs. Pelican[44]
Indian Day[47]
About Hats[49]
Mother’s Day[51]
About Forks[53]
About Silk[54]
All We Know About Strawberries[57]
Children’s Day[59]
About Carrier Pigeons[60]
About Coal[62]
Flag Day[65]
The Sea-gull Monument[67]
Fourth of July[69]
Mr. Irish Potato[72]
Old Abe, the Wisconsin War-eagle[75]
About Clocks[77]
About Cotton[80]
About Coral[82]
The Star-Spangled Banner[84]
About Umbrellas[87]
Hallowe’en[88]
About Wolves[89]
How Thanksgiving Came[91]
Christmas[93]

The Boy named Billy

THERE was once a boy named Billy, who spent a summer in the woods with Somebody.

Somebody had expected to have a wonderful time telling him stories; but it turned out that the boy named Billy did not care for made up stories. He would listen, if they were sufficiently exciting, but even stories of wolves and bears and tigers were not very much worth while unless they were really so.

He wanted to know about the beginning of things, and what certain days meant, and who started customs, and ever and ever so many things that you’d never suppose a small boy would be interested in.