SIX NICE DUCKS
There were six nice ducks that I once knew,
Fat ducks and pretty ducks they were too.
And one had a feather curled up on his back,
And he ruled the others with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
Across the green fields those ducks would go,
Widdle, waddle, wuddle, all in a row;
But the one with a feather curled up on his back
Was always ahead, with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
Hero a fat bug, and there a small toad,
They snapped up quickly while on the road;
But his broad bill would smack
As he ate with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
Into the brook they went with a dash,
They swam through the water with many a splash;
But the one with a feather curled up on his back
He swam the fastest, with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
Some dove to the bottom, pink feet in air,
And grubbed in the mud for fat worms rare.
But the one with a feather of worms had no lack;
For he stayed the longest, with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
If I told you all that these ducks did,
What nice times they had in the meadow hid,
The one with a feather curled up on his back
Would fill half the story with his
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
—AUNT SALLY.=
ROBBIE'S DRUM.
One afternoon little Robbie Fales came home with a very sober face. Charley Allen, one of the school-boys, had just had a present of a handsome drum. Robbie wanted one, too. He wanted one so much that he could not think of any thing else all the evening. At last Grandma began to wonder if he was sick; so he had to tell her what he was thinking about.
"I wish father could buy one for me; but I know he can't afford it," said Robbie, with a long sigh.
"Perhaps I can fix up one for you," said Grandma.
"Oh, I should be so glad if you could!" said Robbie. "I know you can fix lots of things; but I don't believe you could make a drum."
"Well, I can try," said Grandma; "and I think I can fix something for you that will make a noise, if it should n't be like a real drum."
So the next day, when Robbie was away at school, Grandma Fales went to work to make a drum for him in a way she had thought of. She found a wooden box that was light but strong, and about the right size.
She put some straps of red cloth around it to make it look gay. Then she fastened a long strap to it so that Robbie could hang it on his neck. For the drum-sticks she found some spokes that had been broken out of an old wheel.
When Robbie came home and saw what Grandma had done for him he was quite delighted.
"Why, this is a first-rate drum!" he exclaimed. "And it did n't cost a cent, either. I did n't think you could make any thing so good," and he thanked her over and over. He hung the box on his neck, and beat a lively rub-a-dub on the ends.
He liked the sticks very much, because they were so round and smooth. The homemade drum was greatly admired by the school-boys. Each one of them took his turn at playing on it; and they all agreed, that if it did not look just like a real drum, it did make a splendid noise.
Robbie said he was sure that he enjoyed it as much as he should if it had cost several dollars; and Grandma was very glad that she had been able to make him so happy.
—MARY E. NATHE.
LITTLE MISS SONNET.
Prim little Miss Sonnet
Once ordered a bonnet;
The biggest and grandest that ever was seen.
And little Miss Sonnet
She said, "I will don it,
For I am quite sure it is fit for the Queen."
Then little Miss Sonnet
She put on lier bonnet,
And tied a true lover's knot under her chin;
And
