Second Grade Read Aloud Banquet



Songs for November


The Sugar-Plum Tree

Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?

'Tis a marvel of great renown!

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.


When you've got to the tree, you would have a hard time

To capture the fruit which I sing;

The tree is so tall that no person could climb

To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!

But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,

And a gingerbread dog prowls below—

And this is the way you contrive to get at

Those sugar-plums tempting you so:


You say but the word to that gingerbread dog

And he barks with such terrible zest

That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,

As her swelling proportions attest.

And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around

From this leafy limb unto that,

And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground—

Hurrah for that chocolate cat!


There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,

With stripings of scarlet or gold,

And you carry away of the treasure that rains

As much as your apron can hold!

So come, little child, cuddle closer to me

In your dainty white nightcap and gown,

And I'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.


  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 47 A Little Snow Bird from The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin Whittington and His Cat (Part 2 of 2) from Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin Some Merry Seed-Eaters from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess Which Is Best from Fairy Tales Too Good To Miss—Into the Woods by Lisa M. Ripperton Follow the Leader from The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge A Castle on Brandywine (Part 1 of 2) from The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major The Angel with the Drawn Sword on Mount Moriah from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Turpentine and Tar from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
The Making of Clapboards from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Providing for the Children from Richard of Jamestown by James Otis
Broad Leaves in Fall from Outdoor Visits by Edith M. Patch The Hares and the Frogs from The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter I Am Called Governor from Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin The Sailor Man from The Golden Windows by Laura E. Richards Happy Jack Squirrel Makes an Unexpected Call from The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton Burgess The Runaway Story from The Sandman: His Sea Stories by Willliam J. Hopkins
Aladdin by James Russell Lowell Wizard Frost by Frank Dempster Sherman   The Merman by Alfred Lord Tennyson Many a Mickle by Walter de la Mare Thanksgiving Day by Lydia Maria Child Thanksgiving Day by Lydia Maria Child
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The Aesop for Children  by Milo Winter

Belling the Cat

The mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day.

Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a very young Mouse got up and said:

"I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat's neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming."

All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:

"I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one question Who will bell the Cat?"

It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.


[Illustration]