so vexed at this, that she de-ter'-mined to catch no more but'-ter-flies, but to be content' with see'-ing them skim from one flow'-er to an-oth'-er, and to stand and look at them while they opened and shut their beau'-ti-ful wings in the sun. But though but'-ter-flies' wings could be so soon broken and spoiled, birds' wings, she thought, could not; and it would be a great deal bet'-ter, she said to herself', to have pret'-ty young birds in her hand that might be touched with-out' harm, and would in time sing to her, than the gay'-est but'-ter-flies that were ev'-er seen.

And so she pre-vailed' on some one to get her a nest full of young lin'-nets, out of a thick hedge, which she took and put a-gainst' her bo'-som, and then fed them, till she thought they would be much hap'-pi-er with her than they were a-mong' the branch'-es and leaves of the trees. But when the old bird flew back, af'-ter she had been seek'-ing food for her young,

and found her nest gone, she made such a sad twit'-ter-ing that the lit'-tle girl felt ver'-y sor'ry, and be-gan' to think, that though the young ones might be glad to have such a nice warm bed as she made them in a little cage, their moth'-er must be ver'-y grieved to lose them, and so she went to bed not near so glad at hav'-ing the young birds as she was at first.

When she got up in the mor'-ning she went to look at them, and car'-ry them some food, and she thought, per-haps' the old bird has for-got them by this time; but it was no such thing, for she was fly'-ing back'-wards and for'wards be-fore the win'-dow where the cage stood, and would have come quite near had not some one fright-ed her. When she put her hands into the cage with the crumbs of bread she had brought, she hoped the litʼ-tle lin ́-nets would put up their beaks, and shake their wings, and take the food. But they nei'-ther chirped nor moved, and she was ver'-y vexed,

and touched them with her hand a-gain' and a-gain' to make them stir, but they would not; and then she thought she would take them out, and so she did, and they were all dead.

When she saw this she cried, and found she had been ver'-y cru'-el, and said she would nev-er take poor lit'-tle birds a-gain' from their moth'-er. But af'-ter a few days she was a-gain' wish'-ing to have some-thing to play with, and to make fond of; and she was so luck'-y as to find a num'-ber of lit'-tle kittens which an old cat was bring'-ing up in a cor'-ner by the kitch'-en fire. So she begged her mam-ma' to let her have one, which she did, and she ran im-me'-di-ate-ly and took the pret'-ti-est she could see, and went a-way' with it. But she had not long had it in her arms when the moth'-er came af'-ter her, and mew'-ing and look'-ing up at her, seemed to beg that she would set it down and let it go back in'-to the

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kitch'-en. And the good lit'-tle girl re-mem' bered the poor birds, and would not for the world be so cru'-el a-gain'; and she let the kitten go, but was soon af'-ter re-ward'-ed by find'-ing it grown ver'-y strong, and that it was read'-y of its own ac-cord' to leave the old cat, and so she had it a-gain', and a nice lit'-tle thing it was all its life.

THE LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER.

One day, a little boy and a lit'-tle girl a-greed' to take some fruit which their moth'-er had set by; so they took the fruit a-way', with-out' an'-y bod'-y see'-ing them, and they were go'-ing to eat it; but the lit'-tle boy thought they had done wrong, and told his sis-ter they had bet'ter car'-ry the fruit back a-gain'; be-cause' he be-lieved', though no bod'-y else saw them, yet God saw them. So they did car-ry the fruit back a-gain', and the lit'-tle girl af'-ter-wards often re-mem'-bered, that ev-er-y thing we do

is seen by God. So she re-mem'-bered this, and tried to be a good child.

Some time af'-ter this, she was taken ill and died; but be-fore' she died, she felt ver'-y hap'-py, and was will'-ing to die, be-cause' she thought she would go to heaven.

One day, while she was ill, she said, she used to love to be with Su'-şan ver -y much : for I re-mem'-ber, one night, when we were go'-ing to bed to-geth'-er, she said to me, do not let us talk an'-y more; for I al'-ways love to lie still a while, be-fore' I go to sleep, to con-sid'-er how I have spent the day, that I may be sor'ry for what I have done a-miss'. And she said, she wished her broth'-ers and sis'-ters would do so too.

THE AMERICAN BOY.

There was once a lit'-tle boy, who lived in A-mer'-i-ca, and one day, when he was sent out an er'-rand, he saw a bird that had young ones