we

We

to our destination.

and we

Afterwards Jane

was

It was one o'clock when

of the eatables in short order. going to the playground, which

with apparatus of every kind.

1. Fill in the blanks from the list given.

2. Finish the story with an account of the way the girls spent the afternoon at the playgrounds, using as many different words to express action as you can.

Raymond was told to write the names of ten animals he had seen at the zoo. He wrote, "I saw three bears, one elephant, four foxes, and two zebras." His mother was surprised to find that he had finished his list so quickly.

How many different animals did Raymond really name?

Notice that the comma after the name of each animal helps you to understand the sentence better and to read it more intelligently.

When a list of things is given in a sentence, we say the words are used in a series. Such words are separated by commas. When the last two words of a sentence are connected by and, the comma is used before the and. Do not omit it.

Write the following sentence.

Put in commas to

separate the names of the different books.

Anna has read Little Women Alice in Wonderland Two Prisoners Uncle Remus Stories and Jo's Boys.

Now read the sentence aloud, showing how the commas help to make the meaning clear.

Write three sentences, using in each sentence one of the following groups of words in a series. Be sure to put the commas where they are needed.

Find in the story Mike and the Big Parade'on page 147 two examples of commas that separate words in a series. Find another example in Advice to Boys on page 164, and one in Bill's letter to Jack on page 104. Notice the commas in the title, "The Wind, the Moon, and the Little Star." Why are they used?

Words used in a series should be separated by commas.

128

USING COMMAS IN A SERIES

Copy the following sentences, using commas to separate the words in a series.

1. The brownie found bread butter cheese and pie on the kitchen table.

2. He frightened away the rats mice and beetles that were in the cellar.

3. The trees asked the olive tree the palm tree the
apple tree and the bramble to be their king.
4. The garden is gay with red blue yellow purple
and white flowers.

5. The American flag is red white and blue.
6. Its colors stand for courage purity and truth.

129

TALKING ABOUT TREES

TREES

The oak is called the king of trees,
The aspen quivers in the breeze,
The poplar grows up straight and tall,
The pear tree spreads along the wall,
The sycamore gives pleasant shade,
The willow droops in watery glade,
The fir tree useful timber gives,
The beech amid the forest lives.

-Sara Coleridge.

How many of the trees named in the poem do you know?

Describe one of them.

Which of those trees grow near your home?

Which of them grow in your school yard?

How can you tell these trees in the spring and summer?

How can you tell them after their leaves have fallen? Which of these trees are useful to us?

Make a list of the things we get from the oak trees. Are any of these things made near your home?

130

WRITING ABOUT TREES

Write a paragraph, describing a tree which you know and enjoy. Tell:

1. Where and what kind of tree it is.

2. How it looks in spring, autumn, or any other

season.

3. Why you enjoy it,

4. How you would feel if anything should happen to it.

Write a paragraph, telling about the usefulness of a tree. Plan your paragraph before you begin to write.

131

LEARNING TO WRITE ITS

Darwin, the great naturalist, once found a queer looking insect on his desk. Its body was that of a centipede, its head looked like a beetle's, its wings werę those of a butterfly, and its legs were like a grass

hopper's. "Is this yours?" he asked a group of boys who looked as if they knew something about it. "Yes, sir, it is ours," replied one of the boys. "We want you to tell us its name." "Did you hear it hum?" asked Darwin. "Oh, yes, it hummed like anything. "Then," said Darwin with a twinkle in his eye, "I should say that its name is humbug."

Look at the word in italics.

Name each of the words before which its is used.

For what word is its used?

This word shows pos

session.

Its also shows possession.

The possessive of it is formed by adding s.

Make sentences using the word its.

132

OTHER WORDS THAT SHOW POSSESSION

The words ours, yours, hers, and theirs also show possession.

In each of the following sentences fill the blank with one of these words.

1. I have lost my pencil, Helen. Will you lend me -?

2. I need mine, Mary, but Clara will lend you

3. The girls took their books with them, but the boys would not take

4. If you take your umbrellas, will it be necessary for us to take?

6. I have forgotten my book. I hope Cora has not

forgotten