McGuffeys Third Eclectic Reader | Page 6

your places to play."

3. But night has come down, when I hear a loud "mew;" I open the door,
and my kitten comes through; My white kitten! ah me! Can it really be
she-- This ill-looking, beggar-like cat that I see?
4. What ugly, gray streaks on her side and her back! Her nose, once as
pink as a rosebud, is black! Oh, I very well know, Though she does not
say so, She has been where white kittens ought never to go.
THIRD READER. 31
5. If little good children intend to do right, If little white kittens would
keep themselves white, It is needful that they Should this counsel obey,
And be careful in choosing their places to play.
LESSON IX.
THE BEAVER.
1. The beaver is found chiefly in North America. It is about three and a
half feet long, including the flat, paddle- shaped tail, which is a foot in

length. 2. The long, shining hair on the back is chestnut-colored, while
the fine, soft fur that lies next the skin, is grayish brown. 3. Beavers
build themselves most curious huts to live in, and quite frequently a
great number of these huts are placed close together, like the buildings
in a town. 4. They always build their huts on the banks of rivers or
lakes, for they swim much
32 ECLECTIC SERIES. more easily than they walk, and prefer moving
about in the water. 5. When they build on the bank of a running stream,
they make a dam across the stream for the purpose of keeping the water
at the height they wish. 6. These dams are made chiefly of mud, and
stones, and the branches of trees. They are sometimes six or seven
hundred feet in length, and are so constructed that they look more like
the work of man than of little dumb beasts. 7. Their huts are made of
the same material as the dams, and are round in shape. The walls are
very thick, and the roofs are finished off with a thick layer of mud,
sticks, and leaves. 8. They commence building their houses late in the
summer, but do not get them finished before the early frosts. The
freezing makes them tighter and stronger. 9. They obtain the wood for
their dams and huts by gnawing through the branches of trees, and even
through the trunks of small ones, with their sharp front teeth. They peel
off the bark, and lay it up in store for winter food.
THIRD READER. 33 10. The fur of the beaver is highly prized. The
men who hunt these animals are called trappers. 11. A gentleman once
saw five young beavers playing. They would leap on the trunk of a tree
that lay near a beaver dam, and would push one another off into the
water.
12. He crept forward very cautiously, and was about to fire on the little
creatures; but their amusing tricks reminded him so much of some little
children he knew at home, that he thought it would be inhuman to kill
them. So he left them without even disturbing their play.
3,3
34 ECLECTIC SERIES.

LESSON X.

THE YOUNG TEACHER.
1. Charles Rose lived in the country with his father, who taught him to
read and to write. 2. Mr. Rose told his son that, when his morning
lessons were over, he might amuse himself for one hour as he pleased.
3. There was a river near by. On its bank stood the hut of a poor
fisherman, who lived by selling fish. 4. His careful wife kept her wheel
going early and late. They both worked very hard to keep themselves
above want. 5. But they were greatly troubled lest their only son should
never learn to read and to write. They could not teach him themselves,
and they were too poor to send him to school. 6. Charles called at the
hut of this fisherman one day, to inquire about his dog, which was
missing.
THIRD READER. 35 7. He found the little boy, whose name was Joe,
sitting by the table, on which he was making marks with a piece of
chalk. Charles asked him whether he was drawing pictures.
8. "No, I am trying to write," said little Joe, "but I know only two
words. Those I saw upon a sign, and I am trying to write them." 9. "If I
could only learn to read and write," said he, "I should be the happiest
boy in the world."
36 ECLECTIC SERIES. 10. "Then I will make you happy," said
Charles. "I am only a little boy, but I can teach you that. 11. "My father
gives me an hour every day for myself. Now, if you will try to learn,
you