“THE page was pretty brave,” said Roland. “When I was little I used to be scared of the dark, and my mother taught me a poem about being brave.”

“Oh, say it for us, please!” cried a girl near him.

The boy shook his head in refusal, but Mary Frances gave him a smile and said, encouragingly, “Please, I want to hear it.”

Then Roland rose, made a bow, and recited his poem:

If I Could Crow

Sometimes I waken up at night,

And cannot see a speck of light;

I snuggle down into my bed,

And pull the clothes in overhead.

I look and peer into the dark,