Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet

Songs for December

Bunches of Grapes

"Bunches of grapes," says Timothy:

"Pomegranates pink," says Elaine;

"A junket of cream and a cranberry tart

For me," says Jane.

"Love-in-a-mist," says Timothy:

"Primroses pale," says Elaine;

"A nosegay of pinks and mignonette

For me," says Jane.

"Chariots of gold," says Timothy:

"Silvery wings," says Elaine;

"A bumpity ride in a wagon of hay

For me," says Jane.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
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

The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter

The Tortoise and the Ducks

The Tortoise, you know, carries his house on his back. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot leave home. They say that Jupiter punished him so, because he was such a lazy stay-at-home that he would not go to Jupiter's wedding, even when especially invited.

After many years, Tortoise began to wish he had gone to that wedding. When he saw how gaily the birds flew about and how the Hare and the Chipmunk and all the other animals ran nimbly by, always eager to see everything there was to be seen, the Tortoise felt very sad and discontented. He wanted to see the world too, and there he was with a house on his back and little short legs that could hardly drag him along.

One day he met a pair of Ducks and told them all his trouble.

"We can help you to see the world," said the Ducks. "Take hold of this stick with your teeth and we will carry you far up in the air where you can see the whole countryside. But keep quiet or you will be sorry."

The Tortoise was very glad indeed. He seized the stick firmly with his teeth, the two Ducks took hold of it one at each end, and away they sailed up toward the clouds.

Just then a Crow flew by. He was very much astonished at the strange sight and cried:

"This must surely be the King of Tortoises!"

"Why certainly—" began the Tortoise.

But as he opened his mouth to say these foolish words he lost his hold on the stick, and down he fell to the ground, where he was dashed to pieces on a rock.

Foolish curiosity and vanity often lead to misfortune.