Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet

Songs for December


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.

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Week 37 The Christening from The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock Socrates and His House from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin Jenny Wren's Cousins from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess WATER: THE SECOND STORY from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum
King Fergus and the Water-Horse from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum 		Vasco da Gama's Great Voyage from The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge The One-Eared Bear (Part 1 of 2) from The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major The Cripple at the King's Table from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
A Crude Kind of Chimney from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Cooking a Turkey from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Candles or Rushlights from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis 		Berries for Bluebirds from Outdoor Visits by Edith M. Patch The Lion and the Gnat from The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter I Discover a Wreck from Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin The Forest Bailiff from Merry Tales by Eleanor L. Skinner Old Mrs. Possum Grows Worried from The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton Burgess The Seaweed Story from The Sandman: His Sea Stories by Willliam J. Hopkins
Where Go the Boats? by Robert Louis Stevenson The Sun Travels by Robert Louis Stevenson   John Grumblie, Anonymous The Song of Shadows by Walter de la Mare The Babie by Hugh Miller Lady Moon by Richard Monckton Milnes
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The Aesop for Children  by Milo Winter

The Fox and the Crow

One bright morning as the Fox was following his sharp nose through the wood in search of a bite to eat, he saw a Crow on the limb of a tree overhead. This was by no means the first Crow the Fox had ever seen. What caught his attention this time and made him stop for a second look, was that the lucky Crow held a bit of cheese in her beak.

"No need to search any farther," thought sly Master Fox. "Here is a dainty bite for my breakfast."

Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the Crow was sitting, and looking up admiringly, he cried, "Good-morning, beautiful creature!"


[Illustration]

The Crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the Fox suspiciously. But she kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his greeting.

"What a charming creature she is!" said the Fox. "How her feathers shine! What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful Bird should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect. Could she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds."

Listening to these flattering words, the Crow forgot all her suspicion, and also her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds.

So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese straight into the Fox's open mouth.

"Thank you," said Master Fox sweetly, as he walked off. "Though it is cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?"

The flatterer lives at the expense of those who will listen to him.