Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet

Songs for July

The Duel

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t'other had slept a wink!
The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
(I wasn't there; I simply state

What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)

The gingham dog went "bow-wow-wow!"
And the calico cat replied "mee-ow!"
The air was littered, an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico,
While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-place
Up with its hands before its face,
For it always dreaded a family row!
(Now mind: I'm only telling you

What the old Dutch clock declares is true!)

The Chinese plate looked very blue,
And wailed, "Oh, dear! what shall we do!"
But the gingham dog and the calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,
Employing every tooth and claw
In the awfullest way you ever saw—
And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!
(Don't fancy I exaggerate—

I got my news from the Chinese plate!)

Next morning where the two had sat
They found no trace of the dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole the pair away!
But the truth about the cat and the pup
Is this: They ate each other up!
Now what do you really think of that!
(The old Dutch clock it told me so,

And that is how I came to know.)

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 45	Helpless No More from The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock	The Inchcape Rock from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin	Honker and Dippy Arrive from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess	AIR: THE SECOND STORY from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum Bellerophon from The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum	Columbus in Chains from The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge	The Black Gully (Part 2 of 2) from The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major	Absalom in the Wood; David on the Throne (Part 2 of 2) from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
	Stealing the Company's Goods from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis What the Thieving Led To from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis Fear of Famine in a Land of Plenty from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis	New Coats for Bluebirds (Part 2 of 3) from Outdoor Visits by Edith M. Patch	The Wolf and the Lamb from The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter	I Make a Bold Rescue from Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin	The Jackal and the Alligator from Merry Tales by Eleanor L. Skinner	Farmer Brown's Boy Chops Down a Tree from The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton Burgess	The Albatross Story from The Sandman: His Sea Stories by Willliam J. Hopkins The Derelict Story from The Sandman: His Sea Stories by Willliam J. Hopkins
	Romance by Gabriel Setoun	Norse Lullaby by Eugene Field		Hiawatha's Childhood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	Earth Folk by Walter de la Mare	The Winter Robin by Thomas Bailey Aldrich	The Raggedy Man by James Whitcomb Riley

The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter

The Frogs Who Wished for a King

The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had spoiled them, and they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing for a government that could entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule them in a way to make them know they were being ruled. No milk and water government for them, they declared. So they sent a petition to Jupiter asking for a king.

Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and make them think they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a great splash. The Frogs hid themselves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king to be some fearful giant. But they soon discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was. In a short time the younger Frogs were using him for a diving platform, while the older Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to Jupiter about the government.

To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a Crane to be king of Frogland. The Crane proved to be a very different sort of king from old King Log. He gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left and they soon saw what fools they had been. In mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the cruel tyrant before they should all be destroyed.

"How now!" cried Jupiter "Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for and so you have only yourselves to blame for your misfortunes."

Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change.