CAMPING OUT.
Albert lives in the Far West. He is only seven years old. He has no brothers or sisters to play with him, so he has to amuse himself. He makes railroads and bridges and houses with bits of rock. He has a toy shovel and a pickaxe and a little axe that will cut. He is very happy playing with them for hours.
Sometimes he gets tired of his playthings, and says, "Mamma, what shall I do now?" Then his mamma tells him that he may read his lesson. If he has been a good boy, she reads some of the stories in "The Nursery" to him, which pleases him very much.
One day last autumn, his papa and mamma went over on the Neosho River, in the Indian Territory (you must look on the map and see where that is), to gather some hickory-nuts and walnuts. Of course they took Albert with them.
It was a bright sunny morning when they started off across the prairie. They saw a great many prairie-chickens, and two big gray wolves, as they went along. Albert was in great glee; but it was a long ride, and the little boy was very glad when they came in sight of the sparkling waters of the Neosho, just as the sun was setting.
Papa had just time to pitch a tent and build a big fire before it was quite dark. Then they all sat down by the fire, and ate their supper. Then mamma made up a nice bed with blankets and shawls, and put Albert into it. They were all glad to go to bed early.
The wolves barked at them several times during the night, but were too much afraid of the fire to venture very near. Albert slept as sweetly as if he had been in his own little bed at home, instead of being out under the starry sky, far away from a house. When he opened his eyes next morning, it was yet quite dusk; but papa was getting ready to go to a pond to shoot some ducks for breakfast. Albert wished to go too; and papa kindly consented. When they came to the pond, papa told Albert to sit down on a log a little way off, so that he would not scare the ducks, and wait until he called him.
Albert promised to do so, and waited for a while; but it seemed to him a very long time, and he began to grow tired and hungry. He called several times; but no one answered, as papa did not wish to scare the ducks. Then he thought he would go back to mamma at the camp.