Look back in this book and see if you can find some words printed in Italics. When you find one, read the sentence it is in aloud, and speak the word which is in Italics very plain and distinct, and see if you do not understand the sentence better.
You must always read such words very distinctly in all books except the Bible. In the Bible, the words are put in Italics for a different reason, which I cannot explain to you now. Now I will go on with the story.
He at last got over this slippery part of the path, and then came to a place where it was very rocky. Trees and bushes hung over his head, and grew thick all around him, and he began to be afraid that he might meet some wild beast. Presently he looked through the bushes, and saw at a distance among the rocks, some large black thing, and he thought it was a bear. He was very much frightened, and began to scream out as loud as he could, Help, Help, Help.
Do you notice any thing remarkable in those three last words? Are they printed like the other words? Are they printed in Italics? How do they differ from common printing? Can you tell? Do you often see words printed so?
They are printed in Capitals. Capitals are letters shaped differently from other letters. They are generally larger than other letters, but not always. These words are printed in capitals, because they are very important indeed. The man cried, Help, Help, Help, very loud. So we print them in Capitals. If a word is very important, we generally print it in Italics, but if it is very important indeed we print it in Capitals. When you come to a word printed in Capitals, you must generally read it very plain and distinctly indeed. I should like to have you look back to the story of Jonas, and see how the words are printed where the boy said “Whoa.” Can you tell the reason why they are printed so? and can you read them right? But let us go on with the story.
At the same time that he shouted for help so loud, he grasped hold of a tree close by, and began to climb it, by the branches, to get out of the bear’s way. When he got up a little way, he could see over the bushes to the very place where the bear was; he looked there, and saw—what do you think it was?
You see a straight mark printed after “saw.” Do you see it? What do you suppose it is? It is what they call a dash. The reason why I put the dash there, is that I was going to tell you what the man saw, but I suddenly stopped, and asked you what you thought it was. When we suddenly stop in saying any thing, and begin to say something else, we put in a dash. So we use a dash in some other ways. You ought to stop a little when you come to a dash, thus; “He looked there and saw—what do you think it was?” Dashes are generally put in, when we want you to stop a little in your reading. Now for the story again.
He looked, and saw—what do you think it was? Why, it was nothing but an old, black log!!
Do you see two characters at the end of that sentence? They are notes of exclamation. When two of them are put together they mean that what comes before them is very extraordinary and surprising. Should you not think it was very extraordinary and surprising for a man to think he saw a bear, and be frightened and shout help, and climb up into a tree, and find, after all, that it was nothing but a great, black log? It is surprising, and when you read it, you must read it as if you thought it was very surprising, so; “What do you think it was? Why it was nothing but an old, black log!!” You can get your father or mother to show you how to read it, if you do not know.
It was nothing but an old, black log, lying against the rocks. The man felt ashamed. He clambered down, and went to look at the log which had frightened him so. It was as black as a coal.[*] The man laughed to think that he should have supposed that to be a bear.