“Why, where is Dicky?” exclaimed the mother.
“We left him sitting on the orchard wall,” said Fluffy; “he was too tired to fly. He will not eat sand and the bugs make him sick. He is weak.”
What a fine time they had! Mother showed them how to get the best bugs, worms and seeds; and they bathed in the brook to their hearts’ content. When they had eaten all they could and frolicked all they wished, they looked and saw the great round sun going down in the west, and they knew that night was near. Then they flew back to the dear home tree, and what do you think was the first thing they saw when they reached home? Yes—there was Dicky under the tree eating sand! He wanted to be strong and had found out that he had to do what his mother told him.
ROBERT E. LEE
(January 19th)
In which it appears that a good boy can become a great man.
Robert E. Lee was born on a beautiful plantation in Virginia. He was a very handsome boy. His father was rich and had many servants, but Robert was not spoiled by all these things. His father and many members of his family had been soldiers. Robert loved to listen to their stories about the battles they had fought for love of their country. He said to himself: “When I am a man I, too, will be a soldier and fight for my country.”
As he listened he learned that a soldier must always do his duty; that means he must do the right thing in the right way at the right time. He learned that a soldier’s duty is always to obey orders, to be brave, to be faithful, and to be tender-hearted.