Kindergarten Read Aloud Banquet

Nursery Songs for November

Aiken Drum

King Cole

The Old Man in Leather

Ye Fairy Ship

A Child's Garden of Verses

North-west Passage

1. Good-Night

When the bright lamp is carried in,
The sunless hours again begin;
O'er all without, in field and lane,
The haunted night returns again.

Now we behold the embers flee
About the firelit hearth; and see
Our faces painted as we pass,
Like pictures, on the window-glass.

Must we to bed indeed? Well then,
Let us arise and go like men,
And face with an undaunted tread
The long black passage up to bed.

Farewell, O brother, sister, sire!
O pleasant party round the fire!
The songs you sing, the tales you tell,
Till far to-morrow, fare ye well!

2. Shadow March

All around the house is the jet-black night;
It stares through the window-pane;
It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light,
And it moves with the moving flame.

Now my little heart goes a-beating like a drum,
With the breath of the Bogie in my hair;
And all around the candle the crooked shadows come,
And go marching along up the stair.

The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of the lamp,
The shadow of the child that goes to bed—
All the wicked shadows coming tramp, tramp, tramp,
With the black night overhead.

3. In Port

Last, to the chamber where I lie
My fearful footsteps patter nigh,
And come from out the cold and gloom
Into my warm and cheerful room.

There, safe arrived, we turn about
To keep the coming shadows out,
And close the happy door at last
On all the perils that we past.

Then, when mamma goes by to bed,
She shall come in with tip-toe tread,
And see me lying warm and fast
And in the land of Nod at last.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 29	Johnny Chuck Becomes Satisfied	The Mocking-Bird The Dandelion	The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin	Mr. Green Frog and His Visitors	What Harriet Did on Tuesday	The Water-Men Story	The Work of the King
Week 29	Tommy Snooks	Little Jumping Joan	The Three Sons	Lullaby	The Blacksmith	Simple Simon	Two Gray Kits

Frederick Richardson's Book for Children by Frederick Richardson
[Illustration]

dropcap image VERY morning Johnny drove his three goats to pasture and every evening when the sun was going to bed he brought them home.

One morning he set off bright and early, driving the goats before him and whistling as he trudged along.

Just as he reached Mr. Smith's turnip field what should he see but a broken board in the fence.

The goats saw it too, and in they skipped and began running round and round the field, stopping now and then to nip off the tops of the tender young turnips.

Johnny knew that would never do.

Picking up a stick he climbed through the fence and tried to drive the goats out.

But never were there such provoking goats.

Round and round they went, not once looking toward the hole in the fence.

Johnny ran and ran and ran till he could run no farther, and then he crawled through the hole in the fence and sat down beside the road and began to cry.

Just then who should come down the road but the fox.

"Good morning, Johnny!" said he. "What are you crying about?"

"I'm crying because I can't get the goats out of the turnip field," said Johnny.

"Oh, don't cry about that," said the fox. "I'll drive them out for you."

So over the fence leaped the fox, and round and round the turnip field he ran after the goats.

But no, they would not go out.

They flicked their tails and shook their heads and away they went, trampling down the turnips until you could hardly have told what had been growing in the field.

The fox ran till he could run no more.

Then he went over and sat down beside Johnny, and he began to cry.

Down the road came a rabbit.

"Good morning, Fox," said he. "What are you crying about?"

"I'm crying because Johnny is crying," said the fox, "and Johnny is crying because he can't get the goats out of the turnip field."

"Tut, tut!" said the rabbit, "what a thing to cry about! Watch me. I'll soon drive them out."

The rabbit hopped over the fence.

Round and round the field he chased the goats; but they would not go near the hole in the fence.

At last the rabbit was so tired he could not hop another hop.

He too crawled through the fence, sat down beside the fox, and began to cry.

Just then a bee came buzzing along over the tops of the flowers.

When she saw the rabbit she said, "Good morning, Bunny, what are you crying about?"

"I'm crying because the fox is crying," said the rabbit, "and the fox is crying because Johnny is crying, and Johnny is crying because he can't get the goats out of the turnip field."

"Don't cry about that," said the bee, "I'll soon get them out for you."

"You!" said the rabbit, "a little thing like you drive the goats out, when neither Johnny, nor the fox, nor I can get them out?" and he laughed at the very idea of such a thing.

"Watch me," said the bee.

Over the fence she flew and buzz-z-z she went right in the ear of the biggest goat.

The goat shook his head and tried to brush away the bee, but the bee only flew to the other ear and buzz-z-z she went, until the goat thought there must be some dreadful thing in the turnip field, so out through the hole in the fence he went, and ran down the road to his pasture.

The bee flew over to the second goat and buzz-z-z she went first in one ear and then in the other until that goat was willing to follow the other through the fence and down the road to the pasture.

The bee flew after the third goat and buzzed first in one ear and then in the other until he too was glad to follow the others.

"Thank you, little bee," said Johnny and wiping away his tears, he hurried down the road to put the goats in the pasture.