The Project Gutenberg eBook of The New McGuffey First Reader, by William Holmes McGuffey

Published：2026-07-31 14:04:46 Source: how to choose wooden blocks Author: Preschool Learning

Etext prepared by Dianne Bean of Phoenix,best kids basketball hoops for 12 year olds under 30 dollars Arizona. The book

contained diacritical markings, music notations, and samples ofhandwriting, which have been omitted in this ascii etext. Therewere several torn pages which are noted by [missing words]. Ifyou have a good copy and would like to fill in the blanks or addthe engravings to this etext, please contact Project Gutenberg.

THE NEW MCGUFFEY FIRST READER

PREFACE

The New McGuffey First Reader has been prepared inconformity with the latest and most approved ideas regardingthe teaching of reading, and its lessons embody and illustratethe best features of the word, the phonic, and the sentence orthought methods.

While all the stories in this book are new, or have beenrewritten especially for its pages, care has been taken topreserve the distinguishing characteristics which have givento the McGuffey Readers their unparalleled popularity andusefulness.

The gradation both in thought and in words has been carefullymaintained, and the work provided enables the pupilsto advance by easy and evenly progressive stages from thebeginning to the end.

Only a few new words are introduced at each lesson, andthese are repeated frequently in succeeding lessons until thepupils are able to recognize them without difficulty.

From the first lesson script is presented in connection withthe printed forms of words, the frequency of its use diminishingas the printed forms become more familiar.

The sounds of the letters are taught, in the order of thealphabet, by appropriate exercises after the various readinglessons. The phonic elements and the common diacriticalmarks are learned one at a time and in a manner that is bothnatural and easy.

________________

A a N n
B b O o
C c P p
D d Q q
E e R r
F f S s
G g T t
H h U u
I i V v
J j W w
K k X x
L l Y y
M m Z z

________________

FIRST READER

________________

a boy I see

boy I see a boy

I see a boy

________________

girl can and the girl

I see a girl.

I see a boy.

I see a boy and a girl.

The boy can see the girl.

I can see the girl and the boy.

I can see the girl.

________________

man has hat run

See the man!

See the boy and the man!

The man has a hat.

Has the boy a hat?

The boy can run.

Can the man run?

The man can see the boy run.

a man can has hat a

________________

doll have my

I have a hat.

I have a doll.

See my doll!

Can the doll see?

I can see my doll.

Has the doll a hat?

My doll has a hat.

The girl has a doll and a hat.

a can has hat have a

________________

play may take ball

Can the boy play?

The boy can run and play.

The boy can play ball.

Can the man play ball?

The man may see the boy play.

May the man take the hall?

The boy may take the ball.

a may play take a

________________

baby little big

Can the girl see the baby?

Can the baby see the little girl?

The baby has a big doll.

The little girl has a ball.

I can see the baby.

Can the baby see my big hat?

The baby may have my ball.

Take the ball, baby!

a may play take baby a

________________

dog it he with

The man has a little dog.

The boy has a big dog.

See the little dog run!

He has my ball.

May the big dog have it?

May he take it?

The little dog may have the ball.

He may run and play with it.

b big boy ball baby b

________________

bird she not fly

See the little bird!

May the baby have it?

May she take it?

She can not take it.

The bird can fly.

The baby can not have the bird.

She can not fly.

She may play with my doll.

She may have my big hat.

b baby big bird b

________________

cow is good to

I see a man and a dog and a cow.

The cow is with the man.

The dog has a big hat.

He is a good little dog.

He may take the hat to the man.

The man is good to the dog.

The cow can run. She can not play.

c can cow c

________________

catch come you me

The baby can not have the bird.

She can not fly and catch it.

Can she catch the good little girl?

Come, baby, come!

Come and catch me.

Catch me and my big doll.

Catch me, and you may have the doll.

You may have it to play with.

c can catch come c

________________

REVIEW.

The boy has a big dog.

You may see the dog play ball.

Can he catch it?

May I run and take it?

The man with the big hat has a cow.

The girl is good to the little baby.

The baby may have my big doll.

She can not catch the bird.

She may come with me and see the bird fly.

________________

REVIEW.

can man me see

cow come run is

he has have hat

boy ball baby big

dog doll not bird

girl good you my

play may fly to

little catch and it

take she with the

________________

one two drum go

Come with me, and see the boys.

One little boy has a drum.

Two boys have big hats.

One boy has a ball.

See the boys go!

See the boys go with the drum.

One, two; one, two; drum, drum!

d dog doll drum d

________________

dress red glad will

The girls have come to play with the baby.

Two girls have little dolls.

One girl has a red dress.

The baby is glad to see the girls.

The girl with the red dress is May.

May is glad to see the good baby.

She will take the baby to see the bird.

d dress red glad bird d

________________

we are three in field

Come with me, little May.

We will go to the field.

We will go and see the cows.

The cows are in the field.

My cow is red.

Two cows are not red.

One and two are three.

We have three cows.

e me we he she e

________________

tree pretty high

Three birds are in the tree.

One is a pretty red bird.

You can not catch it.

It is high in the tree.

The red bird can see the boys with the drum.

It can see the little girl with the red dress.

It can see the good baby and the pretty doll.

It can see the man in the field.

Pretty birds, will you fly to me?

ee see tree three ee

________________

wagon let get ride now

The little boy has a red wagon.

Is it not a pretty one?

The boy will let little May ride in it.

Come, May, come and see my wagon.

You may get in it, and have a ride.

I will take you with me to the fields.

You may have a good ride.

Is the drum in the wagon?

Let me get it. Now we will go.

e red let get e

________________

apple yellow yes too if

See my pretty red apple!

I have three good apples.

One is red, and two are yellow.

I will give you the red one.

May I have a yellow one, too?

Yes. if you are a good girl.

I see a big red apple in the tree.

Will you let me get it?

Yes, you may if it is not too high.

e yes yellow get let red e

________________

Frank flowers find they them

Frank and little May are in thefield with the wagon.

They have come to find flowers.

May has a red flower.

Frank has three yellow flowers.

He will let May have them.

She will take them to the wagon

She is glad to get the pretty flowers.

f field kind flowers Frank f

________________

by nest here feed

Come here, girls! I see a nest.

Little birds are in it.

One, two, three.

The little birds can not fly.

They are not pretty.

They will get pretty by and by.

The big bird is not here now.

She is high in the apple tree.

She will come to them by and by.

She will come and feed them.

g girls get glad big g

________________

woods like home horse

The boys like to go to the woods.

Here they are now.

Here are the horse and the wagon.

And here is the boy with the drum.

They like to play in the woods.

They like to find pretty flowers.

If they find little birds in a nest,they will not take them.

By and by they will go home.

They will ride home in the wagon.

h here high home horse h

________________

sit give but whip

Will you let me ride home with you, Frank?

Yes, May, you may sit by mein the wagon if you like.

Get in, and give me the whip.

I will not whip the good horse.

Now, here we go! Here is theapple tree, but we can not seethe nest in it.

i sit give is whip think

________________

REVIEW.

Here are three boys and two girlsby the big apple tree.

One boy has a yellow drum andone has a whip.

The boy in the red wagon is Frank.

The girls are glad to see Frank.

He will give them a ride.

They like to go with him to thefields and the woods.

May we ride with you, Frank?

Yes, girls, get in! And you, too, boys!

Sit by me and see the good horse go.

Now we will go to the woods to findflowers and see the pretty birds.

In one tree you can see a nest, butyou can not see the little birds.

You may see the big bird if shecomes to feed the little ones.

She has a pretty home high in the tree.

________________

REVIEW.

we are in now

one red ride sit

drum dress tree two

go give get glad

will let here nest

home horse three them

woods too if they

field find feed flowers

by yes high wagon

like whip but Frank

apple yellow pretty May

________________

this do kite father gave

Do you see this? It is my kite.

My father gave it to me.

Is it not a pretty one?

He gave me this drum, too.

You may go with me and see mefly my kite.

You may take the drum with you.

Are you not glad my father gaveit to me?

i I like high kite i

________________

how far as jump John

Frank and John are in the field.

They have come here to play.

How high can you jump, Frank?

Can you jump as high as this?

I can not jump high, John, but
I can jump far.

See! I can jump as far as to thebig apple tree.

Now, John, let me see you jump.

j John jump j

________________

does her kitten kind

Here is May with her kitten.

Her mother gave the kitten to her.

She is kind to the pretty kitten.

She likes to see it jump and play.

See it run with May's ball!

It does not run far with it.

If May can get the ball she willnot take it.

She will give it to the kitten toplay with.

k kitten kind like take can c

________________

all love away Lucy him fast

This is little Lucy.

Her home is far away.

She has come to see Frank and May.

All the little girls love Lucy.

They are kind and good to her,and she loves them.

Frank will let her ride with himin the big wagon.

He will give her the whip, and thehorse will go fast.

The horse will go fast and far,but he will not run away.

l let little love all will l

________________

keep think morning look many

Look, Frank! See my pretty flowers.

Mother gave them to me.

She gave them to me this morning.

Do you not think they are pretty?

How many flowers have I?

Here are three my mother gave me.

My father gave me two red ones.

How many are three and two?

I will keep the red flower.

I will give all my yellow flowersto Lucy. She will like them.

She will take them home with her.

m man many mother me

________________

must your four at

Good morning, little bird.

Good morning, kind Lucy.

How pretty your nest is, little bird!

May I look at the little ones in it?

Yes, you may look at them, but youmust not take them away.

How many birds have you?

Let me see. One, two, three, four.

I do not think they are pretty.

They may not be pretty now,but I love them, little girl.

n nest not in many n

________________

gone on very his

Frank has gone to the field with hiskite. He likes to play with it.

It is the kite his father gave him.

He will run and the kite will fly.

He can run very fast, and the kitecan fly very high.

John does not like to run with a kite.

He likes to play on his drum.

He will play on his drum, and
Frank will run with his kite.

o on gone John dog o

________________

oh of rose some

Oh, mother, come here!

See this pretty flower.

I think it is a rose.

Is it not a yellow rose?

Yes, May. It is a yellow rose.

If you will come with me,

I will give you some red roses.

May I have them to keep, mother?

You may keep some of them,but you must give some to Lucy.

Oh, yes! I will give her four redroses, and one yellow rose.

I will give her some to take hometo her mother, too.

Do you like yellow roses, mother?

Yes, May, I think they are very pretty.

o oh rose home four o

________________

book said care was

John was a good boy this morning.

His mother gave him a pretty book.

He was very glad.

"Oh, mother," he said, "how kindyou are to give me this book!

I think it is very pretty."

"You must take good care of it,"said his mother.

"Yes, mother," said John, "and I willlet Lucy and May look at it too.

They like to look at pretty books."

"The girls will think you are avery kind little boy.

They will take good care of your book."

oo book look good oo

________________

school soon going new other

All the boys and girls are going toschool this morning.

You can see them as they go.

Little Lucy is not with them.

She has gone to her home, far away.

But I see May and some other girls.

John has his new book. Some ofthe other boys have books, too.

I do not see Frank, but I think hewill come soon.

oo too school soon do to o

________________

found pet took after picture

Look at this picture.

It is the picture of my pet kitten.

Do you not think she is a pretty pet?

One morning as I was going toschool, I found this kitten.

She was by a tree in the woods.

After school I took her home.

"Mother," I said, "see this prettylittle kitten. May I keep her as a pet?"

Mother said, "You may keep her ifyou will take good care of her."

I am kind to my kitten.

I feed her and she loves me.

p pet picture pretty keep p

________________

REVIEW.

My mother gave me a new book.

I took it to school one morning,to let the girls see the pictures.

Soon after this I found my pet kittenand took her home with me.

I like to play with my pet kitten.

I will do as mother says. I willtake good care of the kitten.

I love little Lucy. But now she hasgone far away to her home.

I like to see John run with his kite.

He can run as fast as the other boys,but he can not jump far.

He does not like to look at booksand pictures, but he can play on a drum.

________________

[missing text on page 42]

REVIEW.

as on soon rosemust was now somecare at do saidher him his howoh all love butkeep kite kitten kindlook book took doesthink pet picture othermother father far fastfour found after ofaway many very LucyJohn morning gone goingyour school gave jumpthis

________________

goes read tell write well name

The name of this little girlis Rose.

Do you think she looks like a rose?

Do you think Rose is a pretty name?

Rose goes to school.

She can read and write.

At home, she likes to read to hermother. She likes to look atthe pictures, too.

Tell me, Rose, how well you can read.

Can you read well in your book?

I think you can write very well.

Can you write your name?

r rose read run her your r

________________

were so day then be

Can you tell me the name of thispretty little bird?

It is so little it can not fly very far.

Some of the boys found it in the woods,as they were going to school one day.

It was not in a nest.

Frank said; "I will take the littlebird home with me.

It will be a good pet."

So Frank took it as he said.

He is kind to it and feeds it.but he will not keep it.

Some day it can fly well.

Then Frank will let it go.

It will fly away with the other birds.

s so some said nice c

________________

us our shall learn children their

Come, girls let us play with our dolls.

We will play school.

Our dolls will be the children.

Our dolls are as good as somechildren are.

They have their books, and I think,they will learn very fast.

Soon we shall see how well they can read.

This doll is not so goodas the others.

She does not like to goto school very well.

She must sit by meand look at her book.

As soon as she can read well, shemay go home and play.

She goes to school day after day,but she does not learn.

She can not write at all.

She can not tell her name.

________________

WRITING LESSON.

This is my little doll.

Her name is Lucy.

Do you thik she is pretty?

s as dolls does goes is

________________

tall Henry am table what

"How tall you are, Henry!"

"Yes, father, I shall soon be a man.
I am as tall as the table, now."

"What can you see on the table?"

"I can see your big book, father."

"What do you see by the book?"

"Oh, I see some pictures.Two pictures are by the book, andtwo are not by the book."

"How many are two and two, Henry?"

"Two and two are four."

"You do well. If you learn fast,you may soon go to school.

Then you can learn how to readand write."

t tall table tell what not t

________________

funny pail up hill water there

Oh, mother, come and look at thisfunny picture.

What do you see in the picture Lucy?

I see two children in the picture.

I see a tall boy and little girl.

How fast they run!

They are going up hill, too.

The boy has a pail.

I think he is going to get a pailof water for his mother.

How very funny it must be to runup hill!

Will they find water on the hill?

Oh, yes, I see a well up there.

They must be good children to goso far after a pail of water.

There must be good water in the well.

  Jack and Jill went up the hill,
   To get a pail of water;
  Jack fell down and broke his crown,
   And Jill came tumbling after.

u up run must funny u

________________

says say out sure June

Our mother says we may go andsee little Lucy.

We are going some day in June,soon after our school is out.

We do not have school in June.

Lucy's home is far away.

We shall ride there in the bigwagon with father and mother.

Father says it will take all day togo so far.

Mother says I must be sure to take
Lucy some of our good apples.

I will take her a book, too.

I am sure Lucy will be glad to seeus. She will run out to thewagon and tell us so.

What do you think she will say?

She will say, "Oh, May, I am soglad you have come."

u sure June Lucy u

________________

violets sweet buy who

Violets sweet, violets sweet!
Who will buy my violets sweet?
Violets sweet, violets sweet!
I will buy your violets sweet.

________________

vine bush wild grow

See this funny little tree!

What kind of tree is it?

It is not a tree,it is a vine.

It is not so tall as some trees.

It looks like a wild rose vine.

Will it have roses on it?

Yes, I think some roseswill grow on it;but I am not sure.

Wild roses come in June.

Some of them are very sweet.

My roses are not wild.

They do not grow on a vine.

They grow on a bush.

A bush looks like a little tree.

v vine very have give v

________________

went came would down street sell

Little Henry went to school this morning.

All the children were glad to seehim as he came down the street.

He is a funny little boy, and I amsure you would like him.

He says he will grow very fastand soon be a man.

He likes to go to school.

________________

REVIEW.

One day Henry took a pail withhim and went up the hill.

Do you think he went to get a pailof water? I do not think so.

He went to find violets and wildflowers in the woods.

After a little he came down; buthe would not let me look in his pail.

He would not tell me how manyflowers were in it.

"Who will buy my wild roses?"he said. "Who will buy mysweet violets?

I came down the street to sell myflowers. But now I must saythey do not sell very well."

w went well wild would way w

________________

sun sunflower know

Do you know the name of this bigyellow flower?

What kind of flower is it?

Oh, I know.

It is a sunflower.

Does it look like the sun?

It likes the sun.

Do you know whatsunflowers are good for?

Yes, they are good to look at.

If you will go to the field on thehill, you may see many of them.

They are not sweet flowers, likeyour violets and some others.

If you will give me one of yourpretty roses, you may have allthe sunflowers I can find.

I like roses and sweet violets.

I like to see big, yellow sunflowers,too; but I do not care to takethem home with me. Do you?

y you yes yellow y

________________

try from for about

Come here, Henry, and sit by me atthe table.

Your mother has gone out to buya new book for you.

She says you must learn to read.

I am sure you will try to learn.

Then you can read about the prettybirds, and the tall sunflowers,and good children at school.

Soon you may take your book to school.

See this picture, Henry.

It is a picture of a little bird.

I think it is a yellow bird.

The bird has a pretty nestin the woods.

Would you not like to see the littleones in it?

By and by, they will come out andtry to fly.

Very soon you may see them asthey fly from bush to bush.

y by try fly my buy y

________________

WRITING LESSON.

I have a book.
I learn to read in it.
I can write my name.

________________

bee busy buzz sing work

We fly about from flower to flower.

We sing as we work.

Would you like to know what we sing?

We sing, "Buzz, buzz."

You will say,
        "What a funny way to sing!"

But we do not care what you say.

We are too busy to think about it.

You must not keep us from our work.

What is as busy as a bee?

All day it sings as it works,
         "Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

 How doth the little busy bee
   Improve each shining hour?
 It gathers honey all the day
  From every bud and flower.

s bees buzz busy z

________________

A B C SONG. [musical notation omitted]

A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N O P
Q R S T U V W
Q R S T U V W
X… Y… Z, O dear me!
I can not say my A B C.

________________

when warm walk these

One morning when the sun waswarm these children went outto take a walk.

Do you know who they are?

I see May and Rose and little Lucy.

There are two other girls with them,but I do not know their names.

They took a little wagon with them,and went up the hill.

They went to the field on the hill tofind some violets.

They found some sunflowers in thefield, but violets do not grow there.

They saw a wild rose, but a busybee was on it.

"Now," said Lucy, "let us go to thewell and see if it has water in it."

"Yes," said one of the other girls,"the sun is too hot here. But ifwe go to the well, you must takecare not to fall in."

"Oh, I will not fall in," said Lucy.

"I will look at the water fardown in the well; but I will not fall."

The girls will go home when the sungoes down.

a warm walk water fall a

________________

star garden sky time could

I see you, little star.

Do you see me?

I am in the garden.

My name is Lucy.

I see you far up in the sky.

How very high you are!

If you will look down, you can see me.

You can see the flowers, too.

If you would come in the day time,you could see all the children.

You could see us going to school.

But it is time for me to go in now.

Take care, little star, and do not fall

a star far garden are a

________________

green that shade thank plant

[Missing part of page 65]

They grow in the shade.

Rose found three little yellow flowers.

They are not so pretty as the violets.

"I think that all wild flowers arepretty," said Rose.

"Well, then'" said Frank, "you mayhave these violets that I found.

In June I will find you some roses."

[Missing part of page 66]

________________

been help done corn behind

These boys have been in the fieldall the morning.

What do you think they do in the field?

They do not go out there to play.

They go to the field to work.

They help their father plant corn.

They are now on their way home.

One of the boys rides on the horse.

The other two walk behind.

Do you think that these boys like to work?

They will like to play when theirwork is done.

Do you know what corn is?

Would you like to see howit grows in the field?

This is the way it looks.

It is very green and pretty.

It grows to be as tall asa tall man.

Do you know what corn is good for?

th these they there their father

________________

much went each cents more to-day

Would you like to buy someapples to-day? I have some verygood ones here.

How much do you want for yourapples, Frank?

I will sell you the green onesfor three cents each. But I musthave more for these yellow ones.They are sweet apples.

I think I must have four centseach for these.

Oh, Frank! You want too much foryour apples. We can not buy themto-day. We can not give so much.

Well, then, children, I will tellyou what I will do. I will giveyou as many apples as you want.

Thank you, Frank. You are verykind. Will you give one of yoursweet apples to each of us?

Yes, here are three apples foreach of you; and I have four totake home to mother.

Can you tell how many apples
Frank has?

Is he not a good, kind boy to giveall his apples away?

ch each much children ch

________________

where way which why or

Come, Henry, let us take a walkthis warm morning. Wherewould you like to go?

Shall we go to the green woods?

Or shall we go down to the fieldand help the boys plant corn?

Tell me which way we shall go.

Oh, let us go out where the wildflowers grow.

Then we can see the birds in thetrees, and the bees at their work.

Why do the bees fly from flowerto flower? Do they like towork when the sun is warm?

Tell me why the bees are so busyall the day.

I will tell you all about them whenwe have found one at work.But come now, let us walk outto the green woods.

wh when where which why wh

________________

set shines moon bright light night

These four children have gone outto see the sun set.

The sun is high in the sky now.

By and by it will set behind the hills.

The sun shines in the day time.

It helps to keep us warm.

It gives us light.

When it goes down we have night.

Then the stars come out and shine.

The moon shines at night, too.

But it is not so bright as the sun.

On some nights the moon does notshine at all.

Do you like to see the moon?

Yes, I like to see it.

I like to see its pretty light.

We can look at the moon; but wecan not look at the sun.

It is too bright for us to look at.

ight night bright light ight

________________

leaves should ripe eat wish

Let us sit here in the shade underour old apple tree.

You can look up and see thegreen leaves and the littlegreen apples.

I should like to have one of theapples. I wish you would getit for me, Frank.

Why do you want it? It is not ripe.

All the apples on the tree are green,and you must not eat them.

Do you see how little they are?

But the bright sun will shine onthem day after day.

They will grow and grow; andafter a time they will beripe, and yellow, and good to eat.

Then we will come and sit here inthe shade, and you may haveas many apples as you can eat.

sh shine shade should wish sh

________________

This is what Henry can write:

My name is Henry.
My name is Henry.

Can you write your name?

________________

listen hear wonder honey shut into

Come here, Lucy, and listen. Whatdo you hear in this flower?

Oh, mother! I hear a bee. Itgoes buzz, buzz, buzz! Iwonder how it came to beshut up in the flower?

It went into the flower for somehoney, and then the flowershut it in.

Shall we let it out, Lucy?

Oh yes, mother; then it can go to theother flowers and get honey.

o some other wonder honey does o

________________

Robin Redbreast Pussy Cat sat ran

Little Robin Redbreast sat on a tree,Up went Pussy Cat, down went he;Down came Pussy Cat, away Robin ran;Said little Robin Redbreast,"Catch me if you can!"

________________

river fish line hook near

One warm day in June, Frank'sfather said to him: "Frank, Ithink I will go down to theriver and catch some fish."

"Oh, father," said Frank, "I wishI could go too. Will you letme go and help you?"

"Yes, Frank. Run and; get yourhook and line."

"Thank you, father, I am so gladthat I may go."

Here is Frank at the river, withhis hook and line.

How bright the sun shines on thewater!

I wonder where all the fish havegone. Frank can not see them.

The fish are far down in the water.

Frank has let his hook down, andhe wishes that a big fish wouldcome and take it.

But the fish do not wish him tocatch them to-day. They willnot come near the hook.

________________

blue place above among any saying

What a bright day this is!

The sky is as blue as it can be.

Lucy and her mother are in the woods.

They have found a good place undera green tree.

They sit in the shade of the treeand listen to the birds that aresinging above them.

Robin Redbreast is in the tree.

Lucy sees him as he jumps aboutamong the leaves.

By and by he will fly away to his nest.

Lucy wonders where it is.

________________

boat oar row deep sometimes road house

John has a new boat.

His father gave it to him.

It is blue, with a bright red linenear the water.

He keeps it in the river, not farfrom the road.

He has some good oars, too.

He keeps the oars at the house.

His home is near the river.

He likes to row up and down theriver in his boat.

Sometimes little May goes out inthe boat with him.

The water is not deep, and thechildren will not fall out of theboat. They like to row hereand there on the river.

John takes the oars, and May sitsin her place and tells him whereto go.

Sometimes each takes an oar. Thenthe boat goes very fast.

John has a hook and line. Butwhen May is with him he doesnot try to catch any fish.

Shall I tell you why?

He knows that May does not liketo see a fish on a hook.

oa oars boat road oa

________________

REVIEW.

Here are all the boys coming upthe road. I wonder where theyare going to-day.

Each boy has a hook and a line,and one has some light oars.

I think they are going to get intoJohn's new boat and row outon the river.

Can you tell which of these boysis John?

They will get in the boat and rowfar out on the water.

When they get to a deep place theywill try to catch some fish.

I wonder if any of the fish will comenear the boat.

________________

Little Robin Redbreast has a nestin our garden.

If you listen any time in the day,you can hear him sing.

On warm days he likes to sit in theshade among the green leaves.

He can see the busy bees when theyfly to the flowers to get honey.

He sees the green apples about him,but he does not like them. Hewould not eat them if theywere ripe and sweet.

At night he can look up from hisplace in the tree and see thebright stars in the sky. Sometimes he can see the moon, too,as it shines above him.

Sometimes the Pussy Cat comesunder his tree and looks up athim; but she can not get him.

She sits under the tree and wishesthat she could catch him.

Do you know why she wants thebird? Do you know what shewould do if she could get him?

________________

One day Henry went out to the fieldbehind the garden. He wentout to see his father plant corn.

He sat down by a tree and said,
"Father, shall I help you work?
I have been in the house all day."

"Thank you, my little boy," said hisfather. "I want some help verymuch. What can you do?"

"I should like to plant some corn.
How much will you give me?"

"I will give you four cents a dayif you work well. But nowthe sun is about to set, and wemust go home."

________________

saw made yet float put sail

"What is that?" said Rose as shewent down the garden walk.

She saw Frank at work underthe apple tree.

"It is a little boat, Rose," said Frank.
"What do you think of this boat?"

"Oh, I think it is very pretty. Wheredid you get it, Frank?"

"I made it, Rose. I made it all."

"How glad I am that you made it!
Will it float in the water?"

"I think so. All it wants now is thesail. I will soon put that on."

"How I should like to see it sail!Does mother know that youhave made it?"

"Not yet; but I will take it to heras soon as I have put the sail on it.

Then, if she will let us, we will takeit down to the river. We willput it in the water and see itfloat. We will see how fast itcan sail."

Soon Frank and Rose were on theirway to the river. Frank saidthat if the boat sailed well, hewould give it to Rose.

She will let her doll sail in it.

e her were under river water er________________

wind blow feel face

"Listen, mother, do you hear that?"

"Yes, Henry, it is the wind.

We can hear it blow about thehouse; but we can not see it.

If you should go out of the house,you could feel it blow in your face."

"See how it blows the leaves about!How fast Frank's little boat wouldsail with this wind!"

ou out about house how ow

________________

summer bloom soft make

Do you know when summer comes?

When summer comes the days arewarm and bright.

Green leaves are on the trees.

Flowers bloom in the woods andin the gardens.

The wind blows soft; the sky isblue; the sun shines bright

In the summer the corn grows talland green. It is then that thechildren play in the woods.

I like the summer time very much.

________________

wake sleep long meadow

I wish my baby doll would wake.

Wake up, baby! Wake up!

Do not sleep so long.

It is morning, and all good littledolls should be up.

Oh, baby, what a care you are!

Will you not wake up?

I do not know of any doll thatsleeps so long as you do.

Now jump up, and see what a brightmorning it is. See how the sunshines. Wake up, baby!

Do you wish to know where I havebeen, baby doll? I have beendown in the meadow with Frankand Rose.

Shall I tell you what we saw?

Well, we saw birds and bees andgreen leaves and pretty flowers.

Then we went to the river andsaw Frank's little boat sail on the water.

a care where there e

________________

sheep asleep horn no cry

Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn!
Where is the little boy
That looks after the sheep?
Oh, here he is!
Here he is, fast asleep!
Will you wake him? No, not I;
For if I do, I know he will cry.

[Caption to illustration of children playing with beetles.]
Fly away, little bird, fly away home!
If you are not a little bird, why did you come?

________________

cold turn begin brown over gold

What will come when summer isover and gone?

Oh, I can tell you. After thesummer is gone, fall will come.

When fall comes, the days beginto grow cold.

Then the leaves fall from the trees.

Some of the leaves turn red, someturn brown, and some turnyellow as gold.

In the fall we have ripe apples toeat. The corn is ripe then, too.

All the children are glad when fallcomes. Do you know why?

Play time is over, and school begins.

________________

rain stay grass fresh

"I wish, mother, you would tell mewhere the rain comes from.

"Does it come from the sky?

"Are the leaves and the flowers andthe grass glad when the rainfalls on them?"

This is what Lucy asked her motherone day. Her mother said:

"The rain makes the grass lookgreen and fresh. It helps theflowers grow.

"The corn which we plant in thefield could not grow if therewas no rain."

"But, mother," said Lucy, "I do notlike the rain very well. Itmakes me stay in the housewhen I want to go and play.

See how fast it rains! I shall haveto stay at home all day."

________________

evening west clouds those fade

It is evening, and the sun is about toset. The day will soon be gone.

Let us sit here on the soft grassand look at the bright cloudsin the west.

Do you think there is any rain inthose little clouds?

Oh, no! Those are not rain clouds.

See how pretty they are!

Some of the clouds are red, andsome are as yellow as gold.

It is the light of the sun that makesthem look so bright.

Soon they will all fade away in theblue sky.

Soon it will be night, and the moonand stars will shine for us.

a fast ask grass a

________________

ship sea beach sand live shells

Here are four little girls who livenear the sea.

They have gone down to thebeach with their father.

They like to play in the sand.

Sometimes their mother goes withthem, and they stay there all day.

They like to look at the ships asthey sail far away on the blue sea.

Do you think you would like tosail far away on a ship?

Sometimes these little girls findpretty shells in the sand.

I think all children like to playon the beach when the sun is warm,and the wind does not blow.

________________

only every use driver

What does the man say?

He says, "Good sweet apples,only two cents each! Ripe, sweetapples, yellow as gold! Who willbuy my apples this warm summermorning?"

You can hear him as he goesdown the road. "Who wants tobuy a nice red apple?"

The apples are in the wagon.

The man walks in the road, behindthe wagon, and tells every one thathe has apples to sell.

His little dog rides in the wagonand looks at the horse.

Is he not a funny driver?

The horse does not go very fast.

He knows that his driver can notuse a whip..

"Oh, who wants to buy somegood apples this bright summermorning?"

________________

just hand told town brother

Do you know these three boys?

The tall boy in the wagon is
Frank Brown. The little boy is
Henry. He is Frank's brother.

The boy on the horse is John
Day. See how well he can ride!

Frank is a good driver. He sitsin the wagon, and the horse goesjust as he is told.

Frank has a whip in his hand,but he does not use it.

Henry's little dog runs behind.Sometimes he has to run very fastto keep up with the wagon.

Do you know where the boys aregoing?

I think they are going to town.

I wonder what they will buy intown.

Henry says he will buy a bookwith pretty pictures in it. He cannot read very well, but he likes tolook at books.

John wants to ride down to theriver and look at the boats. Hewould buy a new boat if he could.But he has only one cent, and whatcan he buy with that?

Frank says they will not stay intown long. They must go homevery soon.

________________

{ Missing pages 103 and 104]

happy often ask bow arrow Robert

The name of this little boy is
Robert. He is a busy boy.

He lives in a big town, and hedoes not often see the fields andthe green woods.

Yet he is just as happy as Frankand John and little Henry.

He lives in a tall house not farfrom the river. In the summertime he can see the ships as theysail up the river.

His father has a boat, and sometimes
Robert goes sailing in it.

One day Robert saw a man with
[Missing text] bows and arrows to sell.

"How much do you ask for yourarrows?" he said.

"[Missing text] three cents each," said theman. "Would you like to buy one?"

Robert did not buy an arrow.He went home and made onethat was just as good.

Do you think he can use it?

{ Missing text] teacher says that he must
{ Missing text] bow now.

________________

What does the summerbring? Green leaves, prettyflowers, busy bees, andbirds of many kinds.It is then that we play inthe woods and by the sea.

________________

winter north ice snow brings short shiver

When winter comes, the days areshort and the nights are long.

Then the cold north wind blowsover the fields and woods.

It blows over the meadow andthe river and the high hills.

It brings snow and ice.

It makes our hands and facescold. We do not like the northwind.

All children are happy when wintercomes. They like to see thesnow. They like to play on the ice.

They do not care if the northwind does make them shiver. Thosewho are dressed warm do not feelthe cold very much.

Sometimes the snow is so deepthey can not go to school.

In the evening, they sit in thewarm house and read and play.

________________

room window white story show

It is very cold to day, but thesnow is not deep. All the boysand girls are at school.

The school room is warm andbright, and the children are happy.

You can see them at their placesin the school room.

They look out of the window andsee the snow falling. How soft andwhite it is!

The teacher has been showing thechildren some pictures in her newbook. Now she is telling them astory that is found in it.

The children look and listen.They do not think how cold it isout of doors.

go ing com ing sing ing -ingfall ing tell ing show ing -ing

________________

clock minute call thingshour round tick tack

Can you tell what time itis? Look at the clock, andthen tell me.

The clock has a round face.

It has two hands.

We call the long hand theminute hand, for it tells theminutes.

We call the short hand the hourhand, for it tells the hours.

How many hours are there in aday? How many minutes in an hour?

If you listen, you can hear what theclock says. Tick, tack, tick, tack.

Our clock at school tells us manythings. It tells us when to workand when to play.

________________

SONG OF THE CLOCK.
[Musical notation omitted.]

Tick, tack, tick, tack, tick, tack, tick, tack, Little clocksavesme all care. Tick, tack, tick, tack, tick, tack, tick, tack,Tells me when the right hours are, For eating, for sleeping,for play and all, For rising and bathing, it sounds the call;Beat by beat with forward, back, Ever tick and ever tack.

________________

REVIEW.

ship brown made sand meadowsheep brother make soft windowshells brings wake sail minuteshall bloom fade wind wintershould blow face wake summershade horn stay wish teacherthose short steep white sisterthese north asleep each brotherthings hour feel obey every

________________

TO BE MEMORIZED.

Children who may read my lay,
This much I have to say;
Each day and every day
Do what is right.
Right things in great or small;
Then, though the sky should fall,
Sun, moon, and stars and all,
You shall have light.

End Project Gutenberg etext of The New McGuffey First Reader

Related articles