First Grade Read Aloud Banquet



Songs for June

Tom, the Piper's Son



The Fly and the Humble Bee



Oranges and Lemons



Three Blind Mice




The Duel

The gingham dog and the calico cat

Side by side on the table sat;

'Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)

Nor one nor t'other had slept a wink!

The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate

Appeared to know as sure as fate

There was going to be a terrible spat.

(I wasn't there; I simply state

What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)


The gingham dog went "bow-wow-wow!"

And the calico cat replied "mee-ow!"

The air was littered, an hour or so,

With bits of gingham and calico,

While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-place

Up with its hands before its face,

For it always dreaded a family row!

(Now mind: I'm only telling you

What the old Dutch clock declares is true!)


The Chinese plate looked very blue,

And wailed, "Oh, dear! what shall we do!"

But the gingham dog and the calico cat

Wallowed this way and tumbled that,

Employing every tooth and claw

In the awfullest way you ever saw—

And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!

(Don't fancy I exaggerate—

I got my news from the Chinese plate!)


Next morning where the two had sat

They found no trace of the dog or cat;

And some folks think unto this day

That burglars stole the pair away!

But the truth about the cat and the pup

Is this: They ate each other up!

Now what do you really think of that!

(The old Dutch clock it told me so,

And that is how I came to know.)


  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 12 Animal Language from The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting John Stark and the Indians from Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston The Tadpole Who Wanted To Be Grown-Up from Among the Pond People by Clara Dillingham Pierson The Seven Ravens from Fairy Tales Too Good To Miss—Up the Stairs by Lisa M. Ripperton Hiram, King of Tyre from On the Shores of the Great Sea by M. B. Synge New Friends and Old (Part 2 of 2) from The Swiss Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins The Boy Who Became an Archer from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Market Square by A. A. Milne
Spring's Waking by Isabel Eccelstone Mackay
My Bed Is a Boat by Robert Louis Stevenson Sweet and Low by Alfred Lord Tennyson Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale Daffadowndilly by Christina Georgina Rossetti
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Frederick Richardson's Book for Children  by Frederick Richardson

[Illustration]

dropcap image ITTY Mouse and Tatty Mouse both lived in a house.

Titty Mouse went a-leasing, to gather up the fallen ears of corn, and Tatty Mouse went a-leasing.

So they both went a-leasing.

Titty Mouse leased an ear of corn, and Tatty Mouse leased an ear of corn.

So they both leased an ear of corn.

Titty Mouse made a pudding, and Tatty Mouse made a pudding.

So they both made a pudding.

And Tatty Mouse put her pudding into the pot to boil.


[Illustration]

But when Titty went to put hers in, the pot tumbled over and scalded her to death.

Then Tatty sat down and wept; then a three-legged stool said:

"Tatty, why do you weep?"

"Titty's dead," said Tatty, "and so I weep."

"Then," said the stool, "I'll hop," so the stool hopped.

Then a broom in the corner of the room said:

"Stool, why do you hop?"

"Oh!" said the stool, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and so I hop."

"Then," said the broom, "I'll sweep," so the broom began to sweep.

"Then," said the door, "Broom, why do you sweep?"

"Oh!" said the broom, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and so I sweep."


[Illustration]

"Then," said the door, "I'll jar," so the door jarred.

"Then," said the window, "Door, why do you jar?"

"Oh!" said the door, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, and so I jar."

"Then," said the window, "I'll creak," so the window creaked.

Now there was an old bench outside the house, and when the window creaked, the bench said: "Window, why do you creak?"

"Oh!" said the window, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, the door jars, and so I creak."

"Then," said the bench, "I'll run round the house." Then the old bench ran round the house.


[Illustration]

Now there was a fine large walnut-tree growing by the cottage, and the tree said to the bench: "Bench, why do you run round the house?"


[Illustration]

"Oh!" said the bench, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, the door jars, and the window creaks, and so I run round the house."

"Then," said the walnut-tree, "I'll shed my leaves."

So the walnut-tree shed all its beautiful green leaves.

Now there was a little bird perched on one of the boughs of the tree, and when all the leaves fell, it said: "Walnut-tree, why do you shed your leaves?"

"Oh!" said the tree, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, the door jars, and the window creaks, the old bench runs round the house, and so I shed my leaves."

"Then," said the little bird, "I'll moult all my feathers," so he moulted all his pretty feathers.

Now there was a little girl walking below, carrying a jug of milk for her brothers' and sisters' supper, and when she saw the poor little bird moult all its feathers, she said: "Little bird, why do you moult all your feathers?"


[Illustration]

"Oh!" said the little bird, "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, and the door jars, and the window creaks, and the old bench runs round the house, the walnut-tree sheds its leaves, and so I moult all my feathers."

"Then," said the little girl, "I'll spill the milk," so she dropt the pitcher and spilt the milk.


[Illustration]

Now there was an old man just by on the top of a ladder thatching a rick, and when he saw the little girl spill the milk, he said: "Little girl, what do you mean by spilling the milk? Your little brothers and sisters must go without their supper."

Then said the little girl: "Titty's dead, and Tatty weeps, and the stool hops, and the broom sweeps, the door jars, and the window creaks, the old bench runs round the house, the walnut-tree sheds all its leaves, the little bird moults all its feathers, and so I spill the milk."

"Oh!" said the old man, "then I'll tumble off the ladder and break my neck," so he tumbled off the ladder and broke his neck.

When the old man broke his neck, the great walnut-tree fell down with a crash, and upset the old bench and house, and the house falling knocked the window out, and the window knocked the door down, and the door upset the broom, and the broom upset the stool, and poor little Tatty Mouse was buried beneath the ruins.