"in order that I may explain matters to the jackal here, who is somewhat slow in his wits." The tiger with ill grace consented, and the Brahman began the whole story over again, not missing a single detail, and spinning as long a yarn as possible. "Oh, my poor brain! oh, my poor brain!" cried the jackal, wringing its paws. "Let me see! How did it all begin? You were in the cage, and the tiger came walking by —' "Pooh!" interrupted the tiger, "what a fool you are! I was in the cage." "Of course!" cried the jackal, pretending to tremble with fright; "yes, I was in the cage-no, I wasn't dear! dear! where are my wits? Let me see the tiger was in the Brahman, and the cage came walking by no, that's not it, either! Well, don't mind me, but begin your dinner, for I shall never understand!" "Yes, you shall!" returned the tiger, in a rage at the jackal's stupidity; "I'll make you understand! Look here I am the tiger-" "Yes, my lord!" "And that is the Brahman "Yes, my lord!" "And that is the cage "Yes, my lord!” "And I was in the cage do you understand?" "Well?" cried the tiger, impatiently. "Please, my lord! — how did you get in?” "How! why, in the usual way, of course!" "Oh, dear me!- my head is beginning to whirl again! Please don't be angry, my lord, but what is the usual way?" At this the tiger lost patience entirely, and jumping into the cage, cried, "This way! Now do you understand how it was?" "Perfectly!" grinned the jackal as he dexterously shut the door; "and if you will permit me to say so, I think matters will remain as they were!"— East Indian Folk-Tale. NOTES 1. If possible, read Jacobs' Indian Fairy Tales. Read Esop's Fables also. 2. Brahman. Pronounced bra'măn. A Hindu, or inhabitant of India, who belonged to the highest, or priestly, class. 3. Jackal. Pronounced jǎk'ôl. A wild animal resembling a fox and formerly believed to possess a fox's cunning. 4. Read the following exercises slowly and distinctly: (a) He rolled and bit with rage and grief. (b) Let me out of this cage! (c) What is to prevent my eating you now? (d) The jackal shook his head in a distracted sort of way. (e) “Perfectly!" grinned the jackal as he dexterously shut the door. 5. Study the following words and expressions until you can pronounce them correctly and give their meanings as here used: pious, popped, cooped up, piteously, decision, whimper, farther afield, gratitude, garbage, miserable, distracted, impatience, remarkably delicate, with ill grace, stupidity, dexterously. EXERCISES 1. What caused the Brahman to release the tiger? 2. Explain fully, "What a fool you are!" 3. Why did the Brahman plead so piteously? 4. Just what agreement was made? 5. What was the fig tree's answer? 6. What comfort did the buffalo give? 7. What answer did the road make? 8. What hope did the jackal give? 9. Why did not the jackal seem to understand the Brahman's tale? 10. Why did the jackal propose to return to the cage? 11. Explain "Our dinner," and "his knees knocked together with fright.” 12. Why did the Brahman now spin "as long a yarn as possible"? 13. What effect did all this have on the jackal? On the tiger? 14. What finally led the tiger to trap himself? 15. Explain “Perfectly!" as here used by the jackal. 16. If the tiger were a person, what kind of person would he be? 17. If the jackal were a person, what kind of person would he be? 18. What is the best thing you get from this story? ADDITIONAL READINGS JACOBS: The Lion, the Fox, and the Story-Teller. SETOUN: Happy as a King. SCUDDER: The Image and the Treasure. ESOP: The Fox and the Crane. Lame Man and Blind Man. Countryman and Snake. Fox, Wolf, and Horse. GRIMM: The Wonderful Musician. The Wolf and the Man. The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean. Aladdin's Lamp, from Arabian Nights Tales. MARK TWAIN: Whitewashing the Fence. A Bright Chinese Boy - Old Chinese Legend. A KIND WORD A little word in kindness spoken, A motion or a tear Has often healed a heart that's broken, And made a friend sincere. LITTLE BROWN HANDS ITTLE BROWN HANDS" was written "L' by Mary Hannah Krout when she was a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl in Crawfordsville, Indiana. There was sickness in her family at the time, and while she was washing the dishes in the kitchen she thought of how little brown hands helped to do the work. The story is further told in her own words: "After having finished washing dishes," Miss Krout said, “I went into the parlor, sat down on the floor, and began writing the poem. It took me two or three hours to write it. When it was finished, I decided I wouldn't show it to my father, who was a severe critic of my feeble efforts at writing at that early age. I knew it wasn't punctuated properly, and that the little poem was imperfect. "Instead of allowing my father to see it, I showed it to a neighbor, U. M. Scott, now deceased. Mr. Scott complimented me highly upon the poem, and said it was good enough to be published. He asked me to make another copy of it, and we would send it away to some magazine. This I did, and the poem was sent to Our Young Folks, a child's magazine, edited by the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Miss Lucy Larcom. "Some time later I was very much surprised and made very happy indeed when a letter came from the editors, saying they were going to accept the poem. In the letter was enclosed a crisp five-dollar bill. I thought then I was rich. It was the first time I ever received money for writing anything." LITTLE BROWN HANDS They drive home the cows from the pasture, Where the quail whistles loud in the wheat fields, And the first crimson buds of the rose. They toss the new hay in the meadow; They know where the fruit hangs the thickest, |