Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet

Songs for December

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea 
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money 
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above, 
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are, 
You are! 
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl, 
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried: 
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day, 
To the land where the bong-tree grows; 
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, 
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose, 
His nose, 
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling 
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day 
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince, 
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon, 
The moon, 
They danced by the light of the moon.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 43	Stirrings of Ambition from The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock	The Blind Men and the Elephant from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin	A Stranger and a Dandy from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess	EARTH: THE SECOND STORY from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum King Solomon and the Servitor of the Lord of Earth from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum	Discovery of the New World from The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge	The Fire Bear from The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major	Absalom in the Wood; David on the Throne (Part 1 of 2) from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
	Gazing at the Women from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis Master Hunt Brings Great News from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis Captain Newport's Instructions from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis	Flyaway Seeds from Outdoor Visits by Edith M. Patch	The Birds, the Beasts and the Bat from The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter	I Make a New Boat from Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin	The Clever Turtle from Merry Tales by Eleanor L. Skinner	Unc' Billy Possum Wishes He Had Snowshoes from The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton Burgess	The Teak-Wood Story from The Sandman: His Sea Stories by Willliam J. Hopkins
	How the Leaves Came Down by Susan Coolidge	Lady Moon by Richard Monckton Milnes		The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost	The Song of the Secret by Walter de la Mare	The Challenge of Thor by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley

The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter

The Ass and the Load of Salt

A Merchant, driving his Ass homeward from the seashore with a heavy load of salt, came to a river crossed by a shallow ford. They had crossed this river many times before without accident, but this time the Ass slipped and fell when halfway over. And when the Merchant at last got him to his feet, much of the salt had melted away. Delighted to find how much lighter his burden had become, the Ass finished the journey very gayly.

Next day the Merchant went for another load of salt. On the way home the Ass, remembering what had happened at the ford, purposely let himself fall into the water, and again got rid of most of his burden.

The angry Merchant immediately turned about and drove the Ass back to the seashore, where he loaded him with two great baskets of sponges. At the ford the Ass again tumbled over; but when he had scrambled to his feet, it was a very disconsolate Ass that dragged himself homeward under a load ten times heavier than before.

The same measures will not suit all circumstances.

The Ass and the Load of Salt