In the Spring, when the hedge1 which has looked brown and bare for some months, comes to put forth its green leaves, you may go out into the fields, and if you watch the birds that fly past, you may see that they have got bits of wool and hay and straw in their beaks, to build their nests with. Some birds make their nests on the ground, as the lark does; some in the moss on the banks of a clear stream, as a water-hen; some under the eaves of a house, as a swift; some in the twigs of an elm tree, as a rook; or on the branches of a fir tree, as a wild dove. If a duck or a partridge were to make its nest in a tree, then its young ones, which run about as soon as they leave the shell, would fall out and kill themselves.

1 What is the meaning of edge and hedge, of eaves and heaves.

2 Remember ;

bear, a wild beast;

fur, skin with smooth hair;

bare, carried, naked;

fir, a tall tree.

Look at the rule for ei or ie (page 32, rule 6.)

'Our eyes are of a round shape like a ball, and we can move them up and down, and to each side; but to do this we need not move our heads. We can also shut or open them when we please, by means of the little shutters or eye-lids. The lines of hair' just over the eye-lids we call the eye-brows. They stop the sweat, which sometimes falls off our foreheads, from getting into the eye to hurt it; and the little hair-fringes at the edge of the eye-lids are the eye-lashes and serve to keep out the dust when we walk. The eye-balls are put into little round holes made of several bones, and lined with soft fat. There are three parts of the eye which can be plainly seen,' the white of the eye,' the coloured ring, and the little round black spot in the middle.'

1 Remember ;

ball, a round toy; need, must; hair, of the head; seen, has been seeing; ring, a round band; 2 Called the cornea.

bawl, to shout.

knead, to work dough.
hare, a wild animal.
scene, a view.
wring, to twist.

3

The iris.

4 The pupil.

'A long while ago you could not have seen' the face of ground in the land where we now dwell. Great wide woods hid it from view, and wild men dwelt in them. Most of them wore no clothes but put paint on their bare' skins to make them look more fierce. They slept at the roots of trees or in holes in the rocks, and found their food in the chase. They shot from small bows reeds tipped with flint, or hurled spears at the deer and wild beasts of the wood. They ate the flesh and spread the skins over the frames of their boats in which to cross the streams. A few tribes in the south kept herds of cows, and drank the milk or made cheese of the hard curd. They wore coats and cloaks of skins; they spun flax, and had swords and shields. They lived in huts with roofs of the boughs of trees, and had chiefs to guide them in war or rule them in peace.'

1 Take notice ;

seen, has been seeing;
bare, naked,
hole, a hollow place;
deer, an animal;
peace, rest, quietness ;

scene, a view, a picture.
bear, a wild beast.
whole, all parts.
dear, costly, beloved.
piece, a bit.

Better to wear out shoes than sheets.

Dost thou love life? Then waste not time, for
time is the stuff life is made of.

It is too late to spare when all is spent.
Half a leap is a fall into the ditch.

He that buys a house ready wrought,

Hath many a pin and nail for nought.

He laughs best who laughs least.
Little strokes fell great oaks.
Small leaks sink great ships.

The wheel that is weak is apt to break.

The tree roots more fast,

That has stood a tough blast.

If each would sweep before his own door, we should have a clean street.

2 A proverb expresses the knowledge of many, but the wit of one.

A LIST OF DIFFICULT MONOSYLLABLES