In her little garden many a flower is growing -
Red, gold, and purple in the soft wind blowing;
But the child that stands amid the blossoms gay
Is sweeter, quainter, brighter even than they.

Oh, tell me, little children, have you seen her-
This baby girl from Norway, Nikolina?
Slowly she's learning English words, to try
And thank you if her flowers you come to buy.

Nôr'wāy, a country of northern Europe; Nik'o li'na (nik'o lē'na), a name for a girl; pop'pies, plants with showy flowers; flām'ing, bright red; spikes, groups of flowers growing directly from the stem; lärk'spúr, a kind of flowering plant. STUDY HELPS

What question are you asked?
Read all the passages that tell how Nikolina looks.
What are you told to do in case you meet her?
What will she do in return?
What kind of flowers are in her garden?
How does she differ from her flowers?
Why is she learning English words?

THE VOICE OF THE GRASS

SARAH ROBERTS BOYLE

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

By the dusty roadside,
On the sunny hillside,
Close by the noisy brook,

In every shady nook,
I come creeping, creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

All around the open door,
Where sit the aged poor;
Here where the children play,

In the bright and merry May,
I come creeping, creeping everywhere.
Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

In the noisy city street
My pleasant face you 'll meet,
Cheering the sick at heart

Toiling his busy part, —
Silently creeping, creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

You cannot see me coming,
Nor hear my low sweet humming;
For in the starry night,

And the glad morning light,
I come quietly creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

More welcome than the flowers
In summer's pleasant hours;
The gentle cow is glad,

And the merry bird not sad,
To see me creeping, creeping everywhere.

Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

When you 're numbered with the dead
In your still and narrow bed,

In the happy spring I 'll come

And deck your silent home-
Creeping, silently creeping everywhere.
Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere;

My humble song of praise
Most joyfully I raise
To Him at whose command

I beautify the land,
Creeping, silently creeping everywhere.
Hům'ble, unassuming.
STUDY HELPS

What do the first and last lines of every stanza tell you about the grass?

Read all the expressions in the first three stanzas that tell you where the grass creeps.

Read all the passages you can find that tell you what good the grass does.

What do you learn about the grass from the last stanza?

THE BEE AND THE FLOWER

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

The bee buzzed up in the heat.
"I am faint for your honey, my sweet."
The flower said, “Take it, my dear,
For now is the spring of the year.

So come, come!”

“Hum!"
And the bee buzzed down from the heat.

And the bee buzzed up in the cold,
When the flower was withered and old.

“Have you still any honey, my dear?”
She said, “It's the fall of the year,

But come, come!"

“Hum!”
And the bee buzzed off in the cold.

Fāint, weak; withēred, faded and dried up.
STUDY HELPS

What are some of the flowers that bees like best?
Would the bee find any honey in the fall of the year?
How would the bee live in the winter?
How do bees carry honey? How do bees gather honey?

FERN SONG

JOHN BANISTER TABB

Dance to the beat of the rain, little Fern,
And spread out your palms again,

And say, “Tho' the sun

Hath my vesture spun,
He had labored, alas, in vain,

But for the shade

That the Cloud hath made,
And the gift of the Dew and the Rain.”

Then laugh and upturn

All your fronds, little Fern,
And rejoice in the beat of the rain!
Pälms, the leaves of the fern; vēsture, leaves and stem of the
fern plant; frönds, the fern leaves; re joice' (re jois'), be happy.
STUDY HELPS

What was the appearance of the fern leaves before the rain?
What does the fern need besides sunlight?

THE SHEPHERD

WILLIAM BLAKE
How sweet is the shepherd's sweet lot!
From the morn to the evening he strays;
He shall follow his sheep all the day,
And his tongue shall be filled with praise.