Planting the corn and potatoes, Helping to scatter the seeds, Feeding the hens and the chickens, Freeing the garden from weeds, Driving the cows to the pasture, Feeding the horse in the stall,-- We little children are busy; Sure, there is work for us all.
Spreading the hay in the sunshine, Raking it up when it's dry, Picking the apples and peaches Down in the orchard hard by, Picking the grapes in the vineyard, Gathering nuts in the fall,-- We little children are busy; Yes, there is work for us all.
Sweeping, and washing the dishes, Bringing the wood from the shed, Ironing, sewing and knitting, Helping to make up the beds, Taking good care of the baby, Watching her lest she should fall,-- We little children are busy; Oh, there is work for us all.
Work makes us cheerful and happy, Makes us both active and strong; Play we enjoy all the better When we have labored so long. Gladly we help our kind parents, Quickly we come to their call; Children should love to be busy; There is much work for us all.
This picture of three curious little puppies looking at a tortoise reminds me of a story told of a countryman who saw some land-tortoises for the first time at a fair held in a market-place of his native village. Very much surprised at their queer look, he asked the man who was selling them how much they were.
"Eighteenpence!" said the man; "that is a great deal for a thing like a frog. What will you take for one _without the box_?"
Little folks would not make such a stupid mistake as this; they would know that this strange-looking animal between its two shells was a tortoise. There are different sorts--some that live on land, and some in water. Those that live in the sea are called turtles, and their shells are not so hard as that of the land-tortoise. It is easy to see why this is: a turtle would not be able to swim with so thick a shell; it would be much as if a man in armor were to try. Their shells are not all in one, but joined together by a sort of gristle, which enables them to move with greater ease and not so stiffly.
Directly any one hears the name of tortoise, he begins to think of tortoise-shell. This ought really to be called turtle-shell, as it is made from the shell of the hawk's-bill turtle. Tortoise-shell is made by soaking the plates of the shell in warm water until they are soft; then they are pressed into the shapes wanted in warm iron moulds, and taken out and polished.
