It would be too bad to mar this beautiful story by asking questions about it. This is a story to tell. Your teacher, or perhaps the class, will decide who is to come to the front of the room and tell the story. It would be a good Christmas story.
[CAN YOU FOLLOW DIRECTIONS?]
This exercise is given to see if you can follow directions. Follow each direction as you read it. Do not wait for others to start, but begin now.
1. Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your grade on the second. At the left hand side of your paper number the next ten lines from number 1 to number 10.
2. The words name is a John boy's do not make a good sentence, but if the words are arranged in order they form a good sentence: John is a boy's name. This sentence is true. In the same way, the words books made iron of are, in this order do not make a good sentence, but arranged in the right order they form a good sentence: Books are made of iron. This sentence is not true.
3. Here are ten groups of words which can be rearranged into good sentences. When they are rearranged in their right order, some will be true and some will be false. Look at the first set of words. Do not write the words in their right order, but see what they would say if rearranged. If what they would say is true, write the word true after figure 1 on your paper; but if what they would say is not true, write the word false after figure 1. Do this with each group of words.
1. shepherd the his good sheep cares for.
2. Pigeons carry frequently used war to were messages.
3. usually elected kings for are four years.
4. from get caterpillar we called a silk-worm the silk.
5. live the far-away Eskimos sandy hot in deserts the.
6. and coal mined the cotton south are in.
7. sail Spain three set Columbus from great steamships with.
8. chief of England the city Philadelphia is.
9. our days long summer and hot are.
10. noted California trees is big its for.
[FEEDING FRENCH CHILDREN]
You should all begin reading at the same moment. Your teacher will time you and tell you how long it takes you to read this selection. But do not hurry, for you will be asked to tell the class the things you remember best.
Maybe you had a big brother or sister or cousin or aunt or uncle who, during the great war, worked under the Red Cross in France. If you did, he or she may have written home just such letters as this one, which a big sister wrote to her little brothers in America. As you read, see if you do not think she must be a very pleasant, friendly big sister, not only to her own little brothers, but also to the little French children.
Do you wish you had been born in France and that your names were Jean, and René, and Etienne instead of Bill and George Albert and Ben? And do you wish you wore black sateen aprons instead of woolly blue sweaters?