Fourth Grade Read Aloud Banquet

The Wind and the Moon

Said the Wind to the Moon, "I will blow you out,

You stare

In the air

Like a ghost in a chair,

Always looking what I am about—

I hate to be watched; I'll blow you out."


The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon.

So, deep

On a heap

Of clouds to sleep,

Down lay the Wind, and slumbered soon,

Muttering low, "I've done for that Moon."


He turned in his bed; she was there again!

On high

In the sky,

With her one ghost eye,

The Moon shone white and alive and plain.

Said the Wind, "I will blow you out again."


The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew dim.

"With my sledge,

And my wedge,

I have knocked off her edge!

If only I blow right fierce and grim,

The creature will soon be dimmer than dim."


He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread.

"One puff

More's enough

To blow her to snuff!

One good puff more where the last was bred,

And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go the thread."


He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone

In the air

Nowhere

Was a moonbeam bare;

Far off and harmless the shy stars shone—

Sure and certain the Moon was gone!


The Wind he took to his revels once more;

On down,

In town,

Like a merry-mad clown,

He leaped and hallooed with whistle and roar—

"What's that?" The glimmering thread once more!


He flew in a rage—he danced and blew;

But in vain

Was the pain

Of his bursting brain;

For still the broader the Moon-scrap grew,

The broader he swelled his big cheeks and blew.


Slowly she grew—till she filled the night,

And shone

On her throne

In the sky alone,

A matchless, wonderful silvery light,

Radiant and lovely, the Queen of the Night.


Said the Wind: "What a marvel of power am I!

With my breath,

Good faith!

I blew her to death—

First blew her away right out of the sky—

Then blew her in; what strength have I!"


But the Moon she knew nothing about the affair;

For, high

In the sky,

With her one white eye,

Motionless, miles above the air,

She had never heard the great Wind blare.

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Week 48 Floods of Gold from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain William IV—Two Peaceful Victories from Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall The Boiling Pot from The Story Book of Science by Jean Henri Fabre Rainolf in the Writing-Room from Our Little Frankish Cousin of Long Ago by Evaleen Stein The Victory of Talavera from The Struggle for Sea Power by M. B. Synge How Mr. Hans Prospered from Fairy Tales Too Good To Miss—Across the Lake by Lisa M. Ripperton The Brightest Day of All the World from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
La Verna from God's Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi by Sophie Jewett
The Troubadour's Last Song from God's Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi by Sophie Jewett 		An Outdoor Lesson from The Fall of the Year by Dallas Lore Sharp Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr from Four American Patriots by Alma Holman Burton
The Duel from Four American Patriots by Alma Holman Burton 		The Camel Driver and the Adder from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton The Battle of Morgarten from Stories of William Tell Told to the Children by H. E. Marshall Miners from Will o' the Wasps by Margaret Warner Morley We Return to Rosalba from The Rose and the Ring by William Makepeace Thackeray
    In Memoriam, VII by Alfred Lord Tennyson       Nov 27
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The Aesop for Children  by Milo Winter

The Animals and the Plague

Once upon a time a severe plague raged among the animals. Many died, and those who lived were so ill, that they cared for neither food nor drink, and dragged themselves about listlessly. No longer could a fat young hen tempt Master Fox to dinner, nor a tender lamb rouse greedy Sir Wolf's appetite.

At last the Lion decided to call a council. When all the animals were gathered together he arose and said

"Dear friends, I believe the gods have sent this plague upon us as a punishment for our sins. Therefore, the most guilty one of us must be offered in sacrifice. Perhaps we may thus obtain forgiveness and cure for all.

"I will confess all my sins first. I admit that I have been very greedy and have devoured many sheep. They had done me no harm. I have eaten goats and bulls and stags. To tell the truth, I even ate up a shepherd now and then.

"Now, if I am the most guilty, I am ready to be sacrificed. But I think it best that each one confess his sins as I have done. Then we can decide in all justice who is the most guilty."

"Your majesty," said the Fox, "you are too good. Can it be a crime to eat sheep, such stupid mutton heads? No, no, your majesty. You have done them great honor by eating them up.

"And so far as shepherds are concerned, we all know they belong to that puny race that pretends to be our masters."

All the animals applauded the Fox loudly. Then, though the Tiger, the Bear, the Wolf, and all the savage beasts recited the most wicked deeds, all were excused and made to appear very saint-like and innocent.

It was now the Ass's turn to confess.

"I remember," he said guiltily, `"that one day as I was passing a field belonging to some priests, I was so tempted by the tender grass and my hunger, that I could not resist nibbling a bit of it. I had no right to do it, I admit—"

A great uproar among the beasts interrupted him. Here was the culprit who had brought misfortune on all of them! What a horrible crime it was to eat grass that belonged to someone else! It was enough to hang anyone for, much more an Ass.


[Illustration]

Immediately they all fell upon him, the Wolf in the lead, and soon had made an end to him, sacrificing him to the gods then and there, and without the formality of an altar.

The weak are made to suffer for the misdeeds of the powerful.