THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Mother Owl s 
 Rhymes 
 
 Not so Goosie as Mother Goose 
 
 a little sense 
 
 nixed with a little plav, 
 To wisdom s gate 
 
 Will pave the way. 
 
 A A 
 
 racts, figures and fancies, woven Into attractive 
 verse for me little folks. 
 
 A A 
 
 By Kate PerKinson Howard 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 Delia D. Hughes
 
 Copyright 1911 
 by KATE PERKINSON HOWARD 
 
 and 
 DELLA D. HUGHES
 
 H 
 
 Author s Note 
 
 CHE idea of sending these rhymes to the hearts of 
 active children, came through conversation with 
 a friend on the subject of strengthening the mem 
 ory, and realizing that children much more readily 
 accept and retain facts in verse or rhyme than in prose. 
 With children as with plants, each mind assimilates food 
 that corresponds to its development. The faculty of 
 stringing words into rhyme, just as you would string 
 beads, putting in here and there a bright one, then hold 
 ing up the strand to note the effect, has always been a 
 happy habit of mine, and during these several years of 
 enforced inactivity of the body, my brain has found a 
 safety-valve through this expression. 
 
 My earnest desire to come in touch with young inquiring 
 minds is being gratified. To this town nestled on the 
 sands of the grand old Pacific, with its never ceasing 
 ebb and flow of tide, where the music of the breakers is 
 ever bringing thought of other worlds, came an under 
 standing friend, through whose practical ability I have 
 been enabled to reach you. 
 
 KATE PERKINSON HOWARD. 
 Ocean Park, California. 
 
 6
 
 Introduction 
 
 Mother Owl is a wise old bird; 
 
 She said: "Now, what s the use 
 Of learning- all the silly things 
 
 We find in Mother Goose ? 
 
 Why not teach children things 
 
 Worth while, a rhyme, a fact, a rule, 
 
 To store away within the mind 
 Before they go to school? 
 
 Twill help them up the rugged path 
 Of learning s hill to climb; 
 
 For things we learn in childhood 
 We remember for all time." 
 
 I offer you this little book, 
 
 I hope to please you well, 
 And if it does, twill not offend 
 
 The author, if you tell.
 
 Star Spangled Banner. 
 
 In the year eighteen-fourteen 
 Mid tumult and strife, 
 
 Our National hymn first 
 Came into life. 
 
 Besieged by the British 
 With fierce shot and shell 
 
 Good old Fort McHenry 
 Stood bravely and well. 
 
 An American poet, by a 
 
 Strange turn of fate, 
 Was detained, the result 
 
 Of the contest to wait, 
 
 On the enemies warship. 
 
 And from where she lay, 
 He witnessed the battle 
 
 That terrible day. 
 
 The bombardment kept on; 
 
 Through the darkness of night 
 He could catch but a glimpse 
 
 By the rocket s red light, 
 
 Of the flag that he loved 
 As it waved on the shore, 
 
 His heart throbs beat time 
 To the cannon s deep roar.
 
 Thus mid thrilling scenes 
 And in this strange manner 
 
 Was written the song 
 
 Of the Star Spangled Banner. 
 
 In our history Francis Scott Key 
 
 Has a part, 
 For his song is the key 
 
 To America s heart. 
 
 Robert Fulton. 
 
 Way back in eighteen seven, 
 
 Robert Fulton, known to fame, 
 
 Built the first steamboat, 
 And called it by his name. 
 
 Other men had tried in vain, 
 By steam to make things go, 
 
 But Robert made it practical, 
 The others were too slow. 
 
 Upon the grand old Hudson, 
 
 He made his trial trip, 
 The people cheered him loudly 
 
 When they saw his little ship 
 
 Steam gaily up the river 
 
 From the city of New York, 
 
 And skim along the water 
 As lightly as a cork.
 
 Measurements. 
 
 A centipede has one hundred feet, 
 
 A quadruped has four, 
 A biped has two feet, 
 
 And has no use for more. 
 
 Dorothy, you re joking, 
 
 What was that you said? 
 If you had but one foot 
 
 You d be a uniped?" 
 
 * * * 
 
 Sixty little seconds in every little minute, 
 
 Every passing hour has sixty minutes in it. 
 
 Twenty-four hours make a night and day, 
 
 When you count seven of these 
 
 A week has passed away. 
 
 Fifty-two weeks, some warmer, some colder, 
 
 Then you will find you re one year older. 
 
 Each star upon our bonnie flag, 
 
 For a state doth stand, 
 The stripes are for the states thirteen. 
 
 First linked in union band. 
 
 Ten years make a decade. 
 Twenty years a score, 
 
 One hundred years a century. 
 No use counting more. 
 
 Twelve months in a year, 
 
 My little cousin, 
 Twelve kisses for you, dear, 
 
 That makes a dozen.
 
 * * * 
 
 "Twelve eggs make a dozen," said the setting hen, 
 "You re right, my lady," chuckled rooster Ben, 
 
 "Twelve dozen makes a gross, wish it were but ten." 
 "If you hatch a gross of chicks, you are right 
 again." 
 
 * * * 
 
 5280 feet in a single mile 
 
 If you had as many feet, 
 Twould make the shoe man smile. 
 
 * * * 
 
 Sixteen Dunces make a pound, that counts one ; 
 If you weigh 2,000 pounds, that counts a ton. 
 
 * * * 
 
 Twelve inches make one foot, 
 Three feet in a yard we put, 
 Five and one-half yards make a rod, 
 Drive a stake in the sod. 
 Forty rods a furlong make, 
 Here you drive another stake. 
 Eight furlongs make a mile, 
 Drive a stake and rest a while. 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 The land of the bagpipe and tartan, 
 Robert Burns is her national bard, 
 
 The emblem of Scotland, the thistle, 
 So don t press a Scotchman too hard. 
 
 11
 
 Airship. 
 
 The ambition of inventors 
 For many years had been 
 
 To prove that they could navigate 
 The air with a machine. 
 
 In nineteen-three, two brothers, 
 Orville and Wilbur Wright, 
 
 Built for themselves an aeroplane. 
 And in it made a flight. 
 
 After years of patient labor 
 
 Their failures none could guess, 
 
 They waved triumphant from the sky 
 The banner of success. 
 
 Soon other aviators were 
 Performing startling feats 
 
 And thrilling crowds of spectators 
 At aviation meets. 
 
 What yet may be accomplished 
 
 Can scarcely be foretold; 
 Perhaps they ll fly up to the moon, 
 
 These aviators bold. 
 
 12
 
 Golden Rule. 
 
 The golden rule, dear children, 
 Is, that you should always do 
 
 To other people as you would wish 
 To have them do to you. 
 
 If you obey this simple rule 
 
 Twill keep you free from strife, 
 
 And make you happy, bring you 
 Friends, and brighten all your life. 
 
 Don t look in the glass with a frowning face, 
 
 Expecting to meet a smile, 
 For the thoughts we launch on the waves of time, 
 
 Float back to us all the while. 
 
 Never say, "I can t," my dear, 
 
 Rather say, "I ll try." 
 When success comes down the street 
 
 She will not pass you by. 
 
 Kind words are just as easy said 
 As ugly words, and cross; 
 
 Love will gain you many friends, 
 While hate will bring you loss. 
 
 13
 
 The Early Worm. 
 
 Grandpa was lecturing William 
 
 Which caused that brave youngster to squirm, 
 "Remember my boy," he concluded, 
 
 "That the early bird catches the worm." 
 
 "Well, grandpa, what of the early worm? 
 
 He was up too before daylight, 
 And yet the poor fellow was gobbled 
 
 When the early bird hove in sight." 
 
 Grandpa was floored for a moment, 
 
 Then struck by an idea bright, 
 He solemnly said : "Look here, my son, 
 
 That worm had been out all night." 
 
 Mamma, dear, stop reading, come with me and look! 
 
 I ve found a lot of pussies down beside the brook. 
 See them hanging on the branch, fuzzy little fellows, 
 April fool ! Mamma, the re only pussy willows. 
 
 365. 
 
 Every day is your birthday, dear, 
 If in your heart some bright hope is born, 
 If some good deed is done, ere another morn, 
 You re a better child each day of the year 
 And every day is your birthday, dear. 
 
 14
 
 Geography. 
 
 A desert is a barren land, 
 
 A dreary waste of dry, hot sand, 
 
 An oasis is a fertile spot, 
 
 Surrounded by the desert hot. 
 
 A cape is just a point of land 
 Into the water projecting, 
 
 An isthmus, a narrow neck of land 
 Two larger bodies connecting. 
 
 An island is a piece of land 
 With water all around it, 
 
 We use an "S" in spelling it, 
 Although we never sound it. 
 
 Now, I ll tell you something else 
 You didn t know a spell ago, 
 
 A group of islands in the sea 
 Is called an archipelago. 
 
 The earth has not been cut in two, 
 And yet we often hear, 
 
 The eastern half and western half, 
 Each called a hemisphere. 
 
 The western half, or continent 
 
 Is called the Occident ; 
 The eastern half or old world, 
 
 Is called the orient. 
 
 15
 
 The Quaker State. 
 
 Pennsylvania was settled, 
 
 Do you remember when? 
 By the Quakers in 1681, 
 
 Their leader, William Penn. 
 
 He surely was a Yankee, 
 For he started in to trade, 
 
 To give the Red Men a 
 
 Fair deal, no enemies he made. 
 
 One day he made a trade ; 
 
 I think he took the Red Men in ; 
 A jug o lasses, for all the land 
 
 He could cover with a skin. 
 
 He cut the skin in tiny strings, 
 He joined them in a band, 
 
 And when he came to stretch it round, 
 He had quite a piece of land. 
 
 The Indians learned the skin game, 
 But William got the goods. 
 
 Know what Pennsylvania means? 
 It means Penn s woods. 
 
 16
 
 California 
 
 Gold was discovered in 1848, 
 
 Two years later, California was a state. 
 
 A man named James W. Marshall 
 
 Was the first who saw it shine, 
 
 The argonauts were the pioneers 
 
 Of the days of forty-nine. , 
 
 The yellow poppy is the emblem 
 
 Of the Golden State. 
 
 You enter San Francisco Bay 
 
 By the famous Golden Gate. 
 
 Seventeen seventy-six found our country in a 
 
 fix, 
 
 The British so oppressed us with taxation. 
 Our forefathers thought it best 
 For their country so distressed, 
 On July Fourth, to sign the Declaration. 
 Then Washington took command 
 Of the army of our land, 
 Which caused Mother England much vexation, 
 And the way he spanked John Bull 
 Put an end to British rule 
 And sent them helter-skelter from our nation. 
 
 17
 
 An ox is a bovine, so is a cow, 
 A horse is an equine, he draws the plow, 
 A cat is a feline, talks with a meow, 
 A dog" is a canine, bow-bow-wow. 
 
 Thirty days hath September, 
 
 April, June and November, 
 
 All the rest have thirty-one, 
 
 Save February, which alone 
 
 Has twenty-eight, and one day more 
 
 We add to it, one year in four. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 Florida is the peninsula state, 
 
 Its name means the land of flowers, 
 
 There oranges grow, rare orchids are found 
 In the depths of its woodland bowers. 
 
 18
 
 My Flying Machine. 
 
 Come, sweetheart, fly with me, 
 
 And happy we will be, 
 
 To leave behind this old familiar scene. 
 
 I am going to learn to fly, 
 
 Take a trip up in the sky 
 
 In my airy, fairy, flying machine. 
 
 We can start now, pretty soon 
 
 And go sailing round the moon, 
 
 As in our airy aeroplane we fly. 
 
 Throw a kiss to those we love 
 
 From the azure depths above, 
 
 And drink nectar from the dipper in the sky. 
 
 We will plant the Stripes and Stars 
 
 From old Jupiter to Mars 
 
 As we whirl around the firmament so gay, 
 
 With the brightest star up there 
 
 I will decorate your hair, 
 
 And take you riding down the Milky Way. 
 
 19
 
 Alaska. 
 
 Come take a trip to Alaska! 
 
 The land of the ice and the snow, 
 Of the polar bear and the caribou, 
 
 The land of the Eskimo. 
 
 Come for a cruise in the Behring Sea, 
 Where the iceberg serenely floats, 
 
 The fur seals sport on its jagged side, 
 Clad in their seal-skin coats. 
 
 Come to the land of romance, 
 Where shines the midnight sun, 
 
 Like an emblem of golden promise 
 Of the fortunes to be won. 
 
 To the mecca of the miner, 
 
 Where many millions in gold 
 Were found by the sturdy pioneers, 
 
 And millions yet untold, 
 
 In shining golden nuggets, 
 
 Are entombed in the frozen ground, 
 
 Awaiting the click of the miners pick, 
 Just waiting to be found. 
 
 Let me take you to ride with my dog team, 
 I will show you how they can go, 
 
 With a yelp and a bark, off for a lark 
 Over the frozen snow. 
 
 20
 
 Let us spin up the creek where the miner 
 Digs prospect holes by the score, 
 
 And stop for a chat at his cabin, 
 
 There is a welcome for us at the door. 
 
 Perhaps we may meet a reindeer, 
 
 Drawing a sled on the trail, 
 Or catch a glimpse of the dog team 
 
 That brings in the winter mail. 
 
 The carrier, mushing on bravely, 
 Through blizzard and biting cold, 
 
 And a letter from home is welcome, 
 
 Though the post mark be two months old. 
 
 21
 
 Christinas 
 
 Christmas day, dear children, 
 
 Commemorates the birth 
 Of the wondrous babe of Bethlehem, 
 
 A Savior born to earth. 
 
 You all have heard the story 
 
 How the infant Jesus lay 
 In the manger of a stable 
 
 On a pallet made of hay. 
 
 Yet on that joyous morning, 
 They heard the angels sing, 
 
 The wise men came to worship, 
 And hailed him as their king. 
 
 And now with glad rejoicing, 
 
 We celebrate his birth 
 December twenty-fifth, the day 
 
 Our Savior came on earth. 
 
 Ting-a-ling, telephone, let me tell, 
 Was the invention of Graham Bell. 
 Sends your voice a thousand miles 
 Just as well as one. 
 Before we had the telephone 
 This could not be done. 
 
 22
 
 Luther Burbank 
 
 Step into my airship, to break the monotony 
 
 I ll take you to call on the wizard of botany. 
 
 Luther Burbank first rode into fame, 
 
 On a smooth, white potato that still bears his name. 
 
 This quaint genius dwells in secluded repose, 
 In the fair California city, Saint Rose, 
 There this wizard and juggler, rolled into one, 
 Has completed much work left by nature undone. 
 
 Has wrought wonders in fruit, plant and flower, 
 In the shady seclusion of his pleasant bower. 
 But his latest and greatest achievement they say, 
 Was in taking the thorns from the cactus away, 
 
 And making it fit to serve at a feast, 
 Or furnish nutrition for both man and beast. 
 He expects to create, if I tell you don t scream, 
 A plant that produces strawberries and cream. 
 
 I know you all have felt 
 
 Proud of Teddy Roosevelt; 
 
 And the brave rough rider boys 
 
 Who fought with Teddy 
 
 When they crossed land and sea, 
 
 Helped set poor Cuba free, 
 
 And for another scrap said they were ready. 
 
 23
 
 Cuba. 
 
 On account of the cruelties 
 
 Practiced by Spain, 
 
 Uncle Sam interfered? 
 
 Put an end to her reign. 
 
 The war that was waged in 1898 
 
 Lasted just a few months 
 
 But settled the fate 
 
 Of Spanish dominion 
 
 In the Antilles, 
 
 And Cuba rejoiced 
 
 When Spain took to her heels. 
 
 Uncle Sam took poor Cuba 
 
 Under his wing, 
 
 Adjusted her laws, 
 
 Rearranged everything. 
 
 When to govern herself 
 
 The way she could see, 
 
 He made good his promise 
 
 And Cuba was free. 
 
 In the year eighteen ninety-eight upon the first of May 
 Dewey met the Spanish fleet out in Manila Bay, 
 What did Dewey do to them? Well, really some folks 
 
 say, 
 He ate them up for breakfast out in Manila Bay. 
 
 24
 
 Monroe Doctrine. 
 
 The famous Monroe Doctrine 
 
 Was proclaimed by James Monroe, 
 
 When he was our country s president, 
 Many years ago. 
 
 He said if any nation 
 
 Should plainly show intent 
 
 To set up a form of government 
 Upon our continent, 
 
 Such act he would consider 
 
 Sufficient cause for war, 
 And proceed to give intruders 
 
 What they were looking for. 
 
 So Uncle Sam approved it all, 
 
 And posted on a card 
 A warning to all nations 
 
 "Keep out of my back yard." 
 
 25
 
 The Right Path. 
 
 Miss Mollie Quack one morning 
 Met Johnny Funny-cluck; 
 
 He raised his hat politely 
 And said: "My little Duck, 
 
 You re looking sweet and charming, 
 
 Hope I find you well!" 
 "O, dear," she sighed, "I ve been so ill, 
 
 Let me my troubles tell. 
 
 "I ve been to all the doctors, 
 
 If everything they said 
 Or half of it were true, 
 
 I surely would be dead. 
 
 "I first went to an Allopath, 
 Who gave me nasty drugs, 
 
 I nearly lost my appetite, 
 For pollywogs and bugs. 
 
 "I next went to a Homeopath, 
 
 Who gave me sugar pills, 
 Assured me they were harmless 
 
 And would banish all my ills. 
 
 "An Osteopath then twisted me 
 
 Until my back was double ; 
 A Neuropath declared my nerves 
 
 The cause of all the trouble. 
 
 26
 
 "He said I needed perfect quiet, 
 
 I dare not even quack, 
 His verdict so insulted me, 
 
 I vowed I d ne er go back." 
 
 "You look so bright this morning , 
 You ve found relief I m sure;" 
 
 "O, yes, I went to a Hydropath 
 And took the water cure." 
 
 27
 
 The Lighting Bug. 
 
 Thomas A. Edison, wonderful man, 
 Was there e er such another 
 Since the world began? 
 
 It was a flash of his intellect bright, 
 That gave to the world the electric light, 
 Which illumined the earth, turned night into day, 
 Yet this genius kept on, with no time to play. 
 
 His next wonder was the great phonograph. 
 
 A machine that can talk, sing, cry or laugh ; 
 
 Reproduce any sound that falls on the ear ; 
 
 Still the wizard is working, and from year to year 
 
 Comes forth from his brain some wondrous invention 
 
 To startle the world and claim its attention. 
 
 Long life to you, Thomas ; we think an ovation 
 
 Is due to you, prince, for your princely donation. 
 
 28
 
 Thought Wings. 
 
 Way off in sunny Italy, Marconi was born ; 
 
 He dreamed a dream one summer night 
 And told it in the morn. 
 
 Perhaps the folks he told it to 
 Were too polite to laugh. 
 
 The wondrous dream Marconi dreamt 
 Was the wireless telegraph. 
 
 And now the ships that sail the sea 
 
 Can flash a message far, 
 And summon help in time of need, 
 
 No matter where they are. 
 And many lives have thus been saved 
 
 On danger threatened craft, 
 All honor to Marconi and wireless telegraph. 
 
 29
 
 Ireland 
 
 St. Patrick is the patron saint 
 Of the little emerald isle. 
 
 He banished all the snakes and toads 
 They tell you with a smile. 
 
 They honor good Saint Patrick, 
 Their love for him is great, 
 
 And on the seventeenth of March 
 His birth they celebrate. 
 
 On that day every Irishman 
 
 Wears a bran new hat, 
 And a shamrock on his coat 
 
 In honor of St. Pat. 
 
 "I know a girl we call Postscript," 
 Said Rob as he made for the door. 
 
 "Know why we call her so, Daddy? 
 Her name is Adaline Moore." 
 
 30
 
 Butterfly 
 
 Little Ruth and Tommy, 
 Neath the apple tree, 
 
 Having a tea party, 
 Happy as can be. 
 
 Tea and bread and butter, 
 
 Jam and apple pie, 
 Uninvited to the feast, 
 
 Comes a buzzing fly. 
 
 Tommy lifts his napkin, 
 Comes down with a swish, 
 
 Fly is fairly landed, 
 In the butter dish. 
 
 "Don t you hurt him, brother, 
 Cause I tell you why, 
 
 Teacher told us never 
 To kill a butterfly." 
 
 "What s an incubator ? tell me Uncle Ben." 
 Well, I should call it a big wooden hen 
 
 Hatches out a hundred chicks, all at once and then, 
 Does the same thing over, when filled with eggs 
 
 again. 
 "I d hate to be a chick, with such a bunch to call me 
 
 brother, 
 And have no one to scratch for me, but a wooden 
 
 mother." 
 
 31
 
 Chickens Versus Poultry. 
 
 When Jack and Betty first were wed 
 
 And settled down in life, 
 He bought a pretty bungalow 
 
 For his pretty little wife. 
 
 When they were fairly settled 
 
 Down in this cozy spot, 
 Says Betty, "Let s raise poultry, 
 
 There s room in our back lot." 
 
 "All right," said Jack, "I m in for it, 
 
 You re idea is charming, 
 I always felt that I could win 
 
 Success at poultry farming. 
 
 The poultry show is on this week, 
 
 Let s take it in and find 
 What breed of poultry is the best, 
 
 And then we ll buy that kind." 
 
 That evening found them at the show; 
 
 They were in search of knowledge, 
 For poultry lore was not a part 
 
 Of what they learned in college. 
 
 There were Leghorns, brown and white, 
 And big Rhode Island Reds, 
 
 Speckled and Golden Polands 
 With pompons on their heads. 
 
 32
 
 And Plymouth Rocks, both barred and white 
 
 To add to their confusion, 
 Black Spanish and Wyandottes, 
 
 And the Blue Andalusian. 
 
 Langshans, Buff Orpingtons and 
 
 Dainty Bantams small, 
 Black Minorcas and Buff Cochins 
 
 Were ranged around the hall. 
 
 White Brahmas, Blue and Indian Game, 
 
 Known to the poultry world; 
 And fanciers talked of pedigrees, 
 
 While glibly they unfurled 
 
 The virtues of their favorite breed ; 
 
 Each told them with a zest, 
 It mattered not what others said, 
 
 His surely was the best. 
 
 "O dear! they re all so beautiful," 
 
 Said Betty with a sigh, 
 "I fear we never can decide 
 
 The kind we want to buy." 
 
 Jack was sorely puzzled too, 
 
 Then he said: "O, the Dickens! 
 
 Let s build a chicken coop 
 
 And buy a bunch of chickens." 
 
 33
 
 Panama Canal. 
 
 President Roosevelt you know, 
 Was made of strenuous stuff; 
 
 One day he said to Uncle Sam: 
 "We ve waited long enough 
 
 "To build the Panama Canal, 
 
 It is our greatest need; 
 To the wishes of our people, 
 
 I think we should give heed. 
 
 "It takes a boat at least two months, 
 To steam around the Horn ; 
 
 A waste of time and money, 
 As sure as you are born. 
 
 "If we cut across the Isthmus 
 A canal from strand to strand, 
 
 We can send our boats across 
 What now is fifty miles of land. 
 
 "I know to build this great canal 
 
 From Atlantic to Pacific, 
 Will cost a barrel of money, 
 
 And prove a task gigantic. 
 
 "It will cost three hundred million 
 
 To dig this little ditch, 
 But you have the reputation 
 
 You know of being rich." 
 
 Said Uncle Sam : "Go build it, 
 And mind that you don t slight it, 
 
 I ll show the world I ve money to burn, 
 And matches too, to light it." 
 
 34
 
 Listen to the telegraph, tick, tick, tick, 
 Brings a message from afar, click, click, click, 
 As news from all the world, o er the wire flashes, 
 Operator writes it down, all in dots and dashes. 
 These little dots and dashes make the alphabet, 
 That s the way in Morse code, messages we get. 
 Samuel Morse invented this system long ago, 
 Year of eighteen thirty-five, if you wish to know. 
 
 Although Andrew Carnegie has not built a college, 
 He firmly believes in distributing knowledge, 
 Just make your wants known and like a good fairie 
 He will build in your town a handsome library, 
 Where books are loaned free to the rich or the poor, 
 And no seeker of knowledge is turned from its door. 
 
 Ben Franklin discovered a wonderful power, 
 A boon to the world it has proved every hour; 
 When for pastime, a kite he was trying to fly, 
 An electrical current he brought from the sky; 
 Very little was known of this power at its birth, 
 But inventors have made it the marvel of earth. 
 
 35
 
 Memorial Day. 
 
 When earth is a bloom with bright flowers, 
 
 On the thirtieth day of May, 
 We visit the graves of our soldiers, 
 
 Upon them our tribute to lay. 
 
 And whether they died in peace time, 
 Or fell in the battle s fierce fray, 
 
 The soldiers who fought for their country 
 Are honored in memory today. 
 
 The grand old men of the G. A. R., 
 Those veterans bearded and gray, 
 
 Assemble, their comrades to honor, 
 On this, our Memorial Day. 
 
 There was a little lady, 
 
 Her name was Betsy Ross, 
 She cut up her silk petticoat, 
 
 It didn t make her cross, 
 To make the first American Flag. 
 
 All honor to her name ! 
 In the land that loves 
 
 The Stars and Stripes 
 You hear of Betsy s fame. 
 
 36
 
 Thanksgiving is an American day, 
 It is only observed by this nation, 
 
 The date of its coming is fixed every year 
 By our President s proclamation. 
 
 He bids us assemble in churches and homes 
 
 In respect to this holiday fair, 
 And in recognition of blessings received, 
 
 To offer a Thanksgiving prayer. 
 
 Our dear ones returning to the old home, 
 This last Thursday of November, 
 
 Receive hearty welcome and jolly good cheer, 
 And help us our blessings remember. 
 
 When America to Europe 
 
 A secret wished to tell, 
 They had to send the news 
 
 By boat, which took quite a spell, 
 Until in 1865 a genius took a notion 
 
 That he could run a telegraph 
 Across the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 And soon his promise he fulfilled, 
 He proved that he was able. 
 
 His name was Cyrus W. Field, 
 And Cyrus laid the cable. 
 
 37
 
 Mamma called to Louie, 
 
 And his steps to quicken 
 Said : "Come, now help me work, 
 
 Help Mamma dress the chicken." 
 Louie viewed the chickens, looked a bit distressed 
 
 "Better dress him quick, Mamma, 
 Because he s all undressed." 
 
 When Clarence first saw Easter eggs, 
 
 They happened to be blue, 
 He took a sudden fancy 
 
 To eggs of this strange hue. 
 
 Next day he goes to Mamma, 
 
 A ball of blueing begs, 
 He wants to feed it to the hen, 
 
 To make her lay blue eggs. 
 
 "Marjorie, what s a gosling? 
 
 You can tell me maybe." 
 "Sure I can, Aunt Mabel, 
 
 It s a goosie s baby." 
 
 38
 
 A noun is the name of a person or thing, 
 
 A verb denotes action, as to walk or to sing, 
 
 A pronoun stands in the place of a noun, 
 
 An adjective describes, as good, pretty, brown; 
 
 An adverb expresses time, place or degree, 
 
 As today, above, most tenderly; 
 
 An article is the word, a, an, or the, 
 
 Easily remembered there are but three. 
 
 The interjection is an exclamation 
 
 Expressing surprise, perhaps consternation; 
 
 Conjunction, preposition, participle each 
 
 Have a place on the list, called parts of speech. 
 
 Texas is the largest state ! 
 
 Rhode Island is so small 
 You could paste it on a corner 
 
 Of most any state at all. 
 
 Said Texas to Rhode Island, 
 "You saucy little scamp, 
 
 I d really like to borrow you 
 For a postage stamp." 
 
 This made Rhode Island angry, 
 Now tell me, Uncle James 
 
 Was it quite nice of Texas 
 To call Rhode Island names ? 
 
 39
 
 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, 
 Discovered America in fourteen ninety-two, 
 Ferdinand and Isabella on the throne of Spain, 
 Furnished him the money and ships to cross the main. 
 A native of Corsica, this navigator bold, 
 Discovered America when sixty years old. 
 Americus Vespucius gave the land his name, 
 It should have been Columbus, wasn t that a shame ? 
 
 The sewing machine so common 
 
 In every household now, 
 
 Was invented I860 by Elias Howe. 
 
 Perhaps his wife lamented 
 
 Because she had to sew 
 
 And make the children s pinafores 
 
 By hand, it was so slow. 
 
 So Elias went to work 
 
 To show his good intention 
 
 And gave the world this 
 
 Useful and much needed invention. 
 
 40
 
 The pilgrims were a pious band, 
 
 They landed in a flock, 
 In the year sixteen-twenty, 
 
 At good old Plymouth Rock. 
 The Mayflower must have been 
 
 About the biggest craft afloat, 
 For everybody s ancestors 
 
 Came over in that boat. 
 
 41
 
 Song of Oregon. 
 
 There s a land of glowing plenty on the old Pacific shore, 
 Where the people dwell in peace and harmony; 
 
 Tis the land of lofty pines, tis the land of trailing vines, 
 And the snow peaks in the distance you can see. 
 
 Oregon ! my heart you ve fairly won, 
 
 From your hills of green the sunbeams glance and quiver, 
 Where the big ships come and go, and the placid waters flow 
 
 Long the banks of the old Wilamette river. 
 
 Tis the land of happy hours, tis the land of fruit and flowers, 
 
 And its hills and dales are ever dear to me, 
 Tis the land of brightest promise, where no disappointment dwells 
 
 Beside the flowing river and the sea. 
 
 Oregon! my heart you ve fairly won, 
 
 From your hills of green the sunbeams glance and quiver. 
 Tis the fair land of the west, tis the home that I love best. 
 
 On the banks of the old Wilamette river. 
 
 Tis the land of apple blossoms, tis the land of feath ry ferns 
 
 And its hills surround the city of the rose, 
 Tis the land of growing grain, where the farmer sees his gain, 
 
 As at evening to his happy home he goes. , 
 
 Oregon! my heart you ve fairly won, 
 
 From your hills of green the sunbeams glance and quiver, 
 There s a welcome here for you, from honest hearts and true, 
 
 On the banks of the old Wilamette river. 
 
 42
 
 Birth Stones and Flowers. 
 
 January Gem, White Onyx. 
 Flower, Snow Drop. 
 Color, Garnet, Brown and Black. 
 
 February Gem, Amethyst. 
 
 Flower, Primrose. 
 
 Color, Blue, Pink and Nile Green. 
 
 March Gem, the Bloodstone. 
 
 Flower, the Violet. 
 Color, Pink, White, Emerald, Black. 
 
 April Gem, the Diamond. 
 
 Flower, the Daisy. 
 Color, White and Rose. 
 
 May Gem, the Emerald. 
 
 Flower, the Hawthorn. 
 
 Color, Red and Lemon Yellow. 
 
 June Gem, the Pearl. 
 
 Flower, Honeysuckle. 
 Color, Red, Blue and White. 
 
 July Gem, the Ruby. 
 
 Flower, the Water Lily. 
 Color, Green and Russet Red. 
 
 August Gem, the Moonstone. 
 Flower, the Poppy. 
 Color, Red and Green. 
 
 44
 
 September Gem, the Sapphire. 
 
 Flower, Morning Glory. 
 Color, Black, Gold and Blue. 
 
 October Gem, Opal. 
 
 Flower, Hops. 
 
 Color, Black, Crimson and Blue. 
 
 November Gem, the Topaz. 
 
 Flower, Chrysanthemum. 
 
 Color, Golden, Brown and Black. 
 
 December Gem, Turquoise. 
 Flower, the Holly 
 Color, Golden, Brown and Tuscan Red 
 
 45
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 Star Spangled Banner 8 
 
 Robert Fulton 9 
 
 Measurements 10 
 
 Airship 12 
 
 Golden Rule 13 
 
 Early Worm, The 14 
 
 Geography 15 
 
 Quaker State, The 16 
 
 California 17 
 
 My Flying Machine 19 
 
 Alaska 20 
 
 Christmas 22 
 
 Luther Burbank 23 
 
 Cuba : 24 
 
 Monroe Doctrine 25 
 
 R?ght Path, The 26 
 
 Lighting Bug, The 28 
 
 Thought Wings 29 
 
 46
 
 Ireland 
 
 Butterfly 
 
 Chickens Versus Poultry. 
 
 Panama Canal 
 
 Memorial Day 
 
 Song of Oregon 
 
 Birth Stones and Flowers. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 34 
 
 36 
 
 42 
 
 .. 44 
 
 47
 
 A 000 923 983 1 
 
 PS