There were five in the nest, and two of them died with cold and hunger in the night. a The other three lived till the next morning, when, getting to the edge of the nest, to look for their mother, two of them fell out and broke their bones, They lay in great pain for some time upon the ground, but could not move; for they were two young to hop or fly. At last the poor things died. But the other, poor little bird, that was left in the nest, did not die so soon; for it lived all day, very cold, and in great pain. It was almost starved for the want of food. It kept chirping as long as it could make any noise, in hopes its mother would hear, and come and feed it. But she; poor thing, was dead and could not hear it. So, at last, when it was quite tired, it lay still at the bottom of the nest; and in the night it rained fast, and the wind blew, so it died with cold, just as it began to grow daylight. Thus, there was an end of the five pretty, young birds, which all died with cold and hunger, because a cruel boy shot their poor mother. TABLE 14.-XIV Words of two syllables, accented on the second. Ac quire a dieu a gainst ar raign a base af fair a buse af fright ap proach as sign a Inuse a rise de bauch a stray dis own re sign dis may a vail a wake dis play dis pose re tain per forin sup pose re ward al ly a wry un tie be nign im pair bab oon a way tran scribe sub orn in close trans pose trans form en croach un close .e clat be lieve en dear a får be lief en treat un true a larm up right de bar a byss re mark be stow in dict at tack ca tarrh bo hea at tempt re gard con sign in fuse a venge ap prove oom plain in scribe ad ept a mour cam paign ma lign be head com pose ob tain be twixt bas soon con digno paque bur lesque be hoove con cise con temn buf foon con ceit con tempt ca noe con fuse pre vail có quét car touch con strain pre scribe e nough dis prove de ceive pro pose fi nesse a do de ceit a loof de crease pro rogue gro tesque e merge re ceive har im merse de pose re ceipt im mense af firm de scribere course quad rille de sert re pair so journ' de serve be cảuse a bove re prieve a dorn a mong dis claim re straint a broad be come dis course re sume de fraud be love ob lige per tain pur suit ga zette de light de sign do sire re pose de vise о con vey sur vey de stroy en joy re nounce a mount pro pound in veigh de coy a bout sur mount oi com pound al low ap point re joice con found a bound a noint sub join de vour an nounce dis joint ac count ca rouse em broil al loy an nounce pro nounce pur loin a void THE MARTINS. Look up at those birds on the roof of the house. How they skip about, and chirp, and sing. They are martins, and always live about houses and barns, People are fond of them, because they are so lively and sociable: and because they are useful in destroying a great many flies, wasps, and other insects. They also drive off the hawks, and crows. They will not let the hawls catch the chickens, nor the crows pull up the corn; but will pursue them., and dive at them, and peck them with their sharp bills, and chase them off into the woods. They build their nests in holes under the caves of houses, in dove houses, or in boxes made on purpose, and placed upon the sides, or tops of houses, and sometimes set upon the top of a sign post, or a pole. They go away every year, at the beginning of cold weather, to a warmer country, where they spend the winter; and return in a the spring about the first of May, to the same house and nest which they left. As soon as they come back, they are very busy flying about to find dry leaves, and little straws, hay, and feathers, to make a nest of. They always line their nests with feathers to make a soft bed for their young ones. . It is very amusing to stand and look at them, and hear them sing. They fly as swift as a boy can throw a stone, and with such ease, that they scarcely seem to stir their wings. Sometimes they skim along close to the ground, turning first one way, and then another, to catch the insects that come in their way, and will pass by you so quick that you can scarcely see them. Sometimes they fly up high in the air, almost out of sight, and play and sport about just below the clouds. As soon as they have caught a few flies they hasten to their nests, pop into the hole, and feed their little ones. They wake very early in the morning, and begin to chirp and sing as soon as it is light They fly about the windows, and make so much noise, that they wake up all in the house. I will tell you a story about the great care they take of their young ones. A pair of martins once built a nest in a porch, and one of the young ones climbing up to the fåt, wåd-mė, mėt-pine, pin top of the nest, before his feathers were grown, fell out upon a stone, and was killed. The old birds saw it, and got short bits of straw, and stuck them up with mud, like little stakes, all round the whole nest, to keep the other little ones from tumbling out I can tell you another story. A saucy sparrow once got into a martin's nest, while he was absent; and when he reurned, the sparrow would not let him have his nest, but fought him, and pecked at him as he tried to enter his own house The martin then flew away, and gathered a number of his friends, who all come with a bit of clay in their bills, and plastered up the hole othe nest, so that the sparrow could not get out. He had to stay shut up in prison, without light or air, until he was glad to get out and give up the nest to the martin. a DEFINITIONS. An orange, or a football, is a sphere or globe. A candle, or a pencil, is a cylinder. A cent, which is flat, solid, and round, is a wheel. A ring, is a circle. The middle of a circle is the centre. The shape of an egg is an oval. A corner is an angle, and a thing which has three corners is o triangle. . a |
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