—­EUGENE FIELD.

THE SANDMAN

  The rosy clouds float overhead,
    The sun is going down;
  And now the sandman’s gentle tread
    Comes stealing through the town. 
  “White sand, white sand,” he softly cries,
    And as he shakes his hand,
  Straightway there lies on babies’ eyes
    His gift of shining sand. 
  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
    When he goes through the town.

  From sunny beaches far away—­
    Yes, in another land—­
  He gathers up at break of day
    His store of shining sand. 
  No tempests beat that shore remote,
    No ships may sail that way;
  His little boat alone may float
    Within that lovely bay. 
  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
    When he goes through the town.

[Illustration:  The sandman]

  He smiles to see the eyelids close
    Above the happy eyes;
  And every child right well he knows,
    Oh, he is very wise! 
  But, if as he goes through the land,
    A naughty baby cries,
  His other hand takes dull gray sand
    To close the wakeful eyes. 
  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
    When he goes through the town.

  So when you hear the sandman’s song
    Sound through the twilight sweet,
  Be sure you do not keep him long
    A-waiting on the street. 
  Lie softly down, dear little head,
    Rest quiet, busy hands,
  Till, by your bed his good-night said,
    He strews the shining sands. 
  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
    When he goes through the town.

—­MARGARET VANDERGRIFT.

A DICTIONARY

To the Children:  Below you will find the words in the Third Reader that you may not know the meaning of, or how to pronounce.  Some words have more than one meaning.  In looking for the meaning of a word, choose the meaning that best fits the sentence in which the word occurs.

ad ven ture:  a bold undertaking. af fec tion:  love. a gree ment:  a bargain. al mond:  a nut. am ber:  of the color of amber-yellow. ap plaud ed:  praised. ar bu tus:  a trailing plant with small pinkish-white blossoms.  A tri (Ah tree):  a town in Italy. aught:  anything.

Bau cis (Bor sis):  a Greek woman. bel lows (lus):  an instrument for blowing a fire, used by blacksmiths. bil low:  a great wave. blithe (bl=ithe):  joyous, glad. bred:  brought up. bur dock:  a coarse plant with bur-like heads. card:  an instrument for combing cotton, wool, or flax. chase:  hunt; pursuit. chris ten ing:  naming a child at baptism. cliff:  a high, steep face of rock. com rade (kom rad):  a mate, a companion.  Con al (C~on’ al):  an Irish lad. con ceit ed:  proud, vain. con fess:  to own; to admit. coun cil:  a small body called together for a trial, or to decide a matter. court ier (court’ yer):  an attendant at the court of a prince. crime:  a wicked act punishable by law. crouch:  to stoop low.