In her little garden many a flower is growing Oh, tell me, little children, have you seen her- Nor'way, a country of northern Europe; Nik'o li'na (nik'ō lēʼna), a name for a girl; pop'pies, plants with showy flowers; flam'ing, bright red; spikes, groups of flowers growing directly from the stem; lärk'spûr, a kind of flowering plant. STUDY HELPS What question are you asked? Read all the passages that tell how Nikolina looks. 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; On the sunny hillside, Close by the noisy brook, In every shady nook, I come creeping, creeping everywhere. Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; In the bright and merry May, I come creeping, creeping everywhere. Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; My pleasant face you'll meet, Silently creeping, creeping everywhere. Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; Nor hear my low sweet humming; 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 Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; Most joyfully I raise To Him at whose command I beautify the land, Creeping, silently creeping everywhere. Hum'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." "Hum!" And the bee buzzed down from the heat. And the bee buzzed up in the cold, "Have you still any honey, my dear?" And the bee buzzed off in the cold. Faint, weak; withered, faded and dried up. STUDY HELPS What are some of the flowers that bees like best? 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 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." All your fronds, little Fern, And rejoice in the beat of the rain! Pälms, the leaves of the fern; věst'ure, leaves and stem of the fern plant; fronds, the fern leaves; re joice' (re jois'), be happy. STUDY HELPS What was the appearance of the fern leaves before the rain? |