Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet



Songs for July


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 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
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The Aesop for Children  by Milo Winter

The Fox and the Grapes

A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.


[Illustration]

The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it, The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.

Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.

"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."

And off he walked very, very scornfully.

There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.