“You big black dog, go, go a-way! 
  I will not let you bite
My lit-tle pet; it can-not play,
  You gave it such a fright!

“I think you want to eat it up
  Be-cause it is so small,
But if you dare to touch my pup
  For help I mean to call;

“And then pa-pa will bring a stick,
  And make you run a-way;
So, Ro-ver, you had best go quick,
  And leave us here to play!”

* * * * *

Why, Ro-ver, is quite good and tame—­
  You need not be a-fraid;
He on-ly wants to have a game,
  You sil-ly lit-tle maid!

[Illustration:  In sum-mer time, a-long our coasts.  The Mack-a-rel swarm in count-less hosts.]

[Illustration:  We all at Mon-keys love to gaze, And watch their fun-ny tricks and ways.]

[Illustration:  A bird so fool-ish is the Nod-dy, It may be caught by a-ny-bo-dy.]

[Illustration:  The harm-less Newt is to be seen In stag-nant ponds, with duck-weed green.]

[Illustration:"Go away, Rover!”]

[Illustration:  Lucy and Arthur.]

[Illustration]

THE RUSH PA-RA-SOL.

“Oh, come to the brook, sis-ter Kate,
  Oh, come with me, Het-ty and Gus,
Where rush-es, so long and so straight,
  Are grow-ing in thou-sands for us!”

Thus cries, to the rest, lit-tle May;
  And off to the mea-dow go all—­
For nurse has just shown her the way
  Of mak-ing a rush pa-ra-sol.

Lu-cy and Ar-thur.

The day was fine, the sun was hot,
  So Lu-cy took her pail and spade,
And went to find a nice dry spot
  Where wells and cas-tles might be made.

But all the shore just then was wet,
  So Lu-cy took off shoes and socks;
She knew that nurse would fume and fret
  If they got spoilt by sand or rocks.

But Ar-thur was so strong and big,
  He thought that he was quite a man,
And he, in boots, would stand and dig,
  Which proved a very fool-ish plan.

For soon his boots got wet and cold,
  And hurt his feet, and made him cry;
He had to sit and hear nurse scold,
  While both his boots were put to dry.

The pro-vi-dence of god.

“The Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield her increase.”—­Psalm lxxxv. 12.

The seed was sown long months a-go,
And, through the win-ter’s cold and snow,
We trust-ed that God’s care would bring
The green and ten-der blade in spring,
Which che-rished by the sun and rain
Of sum-mer, now has yield-ed grain
In au-tumn, when the reap-er leaves
His cot to cut and bind the sheaves,
And load with them the nod-ding wain
Which bears them home-ward from the plain.