Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet



Songs for October


Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night

Sailed off in a wooden shoe—

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"

The old moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring-fish

That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we!"

Said Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.


The old moon laughed and sang a song,

As they rocked in the wooden shoe,

And the wind that sped them all night long

Ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring-fish

That lived in the beautiful sea—

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—

Never afeard are we!"

So cried the stars to the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.


All night long their nets they threw

To the stars in the twinkling foam,—

Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,

Bringing the fishermen home;

'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed

As if it could not be,

And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed

Of sailing that beautiful sea—

But I shall name you the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.


Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies

Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while Mother sings

Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock in the misty sea,

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three—

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.



  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 32 Pinocchio Becomes a Donkey from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi A Laconic Answer from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin Three Cousins Quite Unlike from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess The Sea-Maiden Who Became a Sea-Swan (Part 1 of 2) from The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said by Padraic Colum The Sea of Darkness from The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge The Big Bear (Part 2 of 2) from The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major Where David Found the Giant's Sword from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Roasting Oysters from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Learning To Cook Other Things from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
The Sweet Potato Root from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Johnny Darter from Outdoor Visits by Edith M. Patch The Ants and the Grasshopper from The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter I See Something in the Sand from Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin Buchettino from Nursery Tales from Many Lands by Eleanor L. and Ada M. Skinner Mr. Toad and Prickly Porky Put Their Heads Togethe from The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton Burgess A United Family from The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Fairy Thrall, Anonymous Thank You, Pretty Cow by Jane Taylor   The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear Berries by Walter de la Mare Dandelions by Helen Gray Cone My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson
First row Previous row          Next row Last row
The Aesop for Children  by Milo Winter

The Old Lion and the Fox

An old Lion, whose teeth and claws were so worn that it was not so easy for him to get food as in his younger days, pretended that he was sick. He took care to let all his neighbors know about it, and then lay down in his cave to wait for visitors. And when they came to offer him their sympathy, he ate them up one by one.

The Fox came too, but he was very cautious about it. Standing at a safe distance from the cave, he inquired politely after the Lion's health. The Lion replied that he was very ill indeed, and asked the Fox to step in for a moment. But Master Fox very wisely stayed outside, thanking the Lion very kindly for the invitation.

"I should be glad to do as you ask," he added, "but I have noticed that there are many foot prints leading into your cave and none coming out. Pray tell me, how do your visitors find their way out again?"

Take warning from the misfortunes of others.


[Illustration]