went round and round her a long time, without stopping. He tried at last to open her bill, that he might give her some food.

He

9. His trouble increased every moment. went to and from her, with the utmost appearance of distress. Sometimes he made the most mournful cries; and at other times, he fixed his eyes on his mate, and was silent; but his looks showed the deepest sorrow.

10. His companion at length died: and this affectionate and interesting bird grew weaker and weaker from that time; and lived only a few months.

11. This is an affecting lesson, to teach us to be kind and loving, and very helpful to one another; and to those persons in particular, who are nearly connected with us, and who stand in need of our assistance.

LESSON XXXVIII.

THE LITTLE DOG TRUSTY.

1. ONE evening Robert and Frank were playing together, in a room by themselves; their mother was ironing in a room next to them, and their father was out at work in the fields, so ther

was nobody in the room with them; but there was a little dog called Trusty, lying by the fireside.

2. Trusty was a pretty playful little dog, and the children were very fond of him.

3. "Come," said Robert to Frank, "there is Trusty lying beside the fire asleep; let us go and wake him, and he will play with us."

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4. "O yes, do let us," said Frank. So they both ran together towards the hearth, to wake the dog.

5. Now there was a bowl of milk standing upon the hearth; and the little boys did not see exactly where it stood, for it was behind them; as they were both playing with the dog they kicked it with their feet, and broke it; and the milk ran over the hearth, and about the floor.

6. When the little boys saw what they had done they were very sorry and frightened; but they did not know what to do: they stood for some time, looking at the broken bowl and the milk, without speaking.

7. Robert spoke first.

8. "So we shall have no milk for supper tonight," said he; and he sighed.

9. "No milk for supper!-why not?" said Frank; "is there no more milk in the house ?"

10. "Yes, but we shall have none of it; for do not you remember, last Monday, when we threw down the milk, my mother said we were very careless, and that the next time we did so, we should have no more; and this is the next

time; so we shall have no milk for supper tonight."

11. "Well then," said Frank, "we must do without it, that's all; we will take more care another time; there's no great harm done ; come, let us run and tell mother.

12. "You know she bid us always tell her directly when we broke any thing; so come," said he, taking hold of his brother's hand.

13. "I won't come just now," said Robert; "don't be in such a hurry, Frank—can't you stay a minute ?"

14. So Frank staid a little while; and then he said, "Come now, Robert." But Robert answered, "Stay a little longer; for I dare not go yet-I am afraid."

15. Little boys, I advise you never to be afraid to tell the truth: never say "Stay a minute" and "Stay a little longer;" but run directly, and tell of what you have done that is wrong.

16. The longer you stay, the more afraid you will grow, till at last perhaps you will not dare to tell the truth at all. Hear what happened to Robert.

17. The longer he staid, the more unwilling he was to go to tell his mother that he had broken the bowl; and at last he pulled his hand away from his brother, and cried, "I won't go at all, Frank; can't you go by yourself?"

18. "Yes," said Frank, "so I will; I am not afraid to go by myself: I only waited for you

out of good-nature, because I thought you would like to tell the truth too.

19. "Yes, so I will; I mean to tell the truth when I am asked: but I need not go now when I do not choose it: and why need you go now? Can't you wait here? Surely my mother can see the milk when she comes in."

20. Frank said no more; but, as his brother would not go, he went without him. He opened the door of the next room, where he thought his mother was ironing; but she was gone; and he thought she was gone to fetch some more clothes to iron.

21. The clothes, he knew, were hanging on the bushes in the garden; so he thought his mother was gone there; and he ran after her, to tell what had happened.

22. Now while Frank was gone, Robert was left in the room by himself; and all the while he was alone he was thinking of some excuses to make to his mother; and he was sorry that Frank was gone to tell her the truth.

23. He said to himself, "If Frank and I both were to say that we did not break the bowl, she would believe us, and we should have milk for supper. I am very sorry Frank would go to tell her about it."

24. Just as he said this to himself, he heard his mother coming down stairs-" Oh ho!" said he to himself, then iny mother has not been out in the garden, and so Frank has not met her,

and cannot have told her; so now I may say what I please."

25. Then this naughty cowardly boy determined to tell his mother a lie.

26. She came into the room; but when she saw the broken bowl, and the milk spilled, she stopped short, and cried, "What a piece of work is here!-Who did this, Robert ?"

27. "I don't know, ma'am," said Robert, in a very low voice.

28. "You don't know, Robert !-tell me the truth-I shall not be angry with you, child-You will only lose the milk at supper; and as for the bowl, I would rather have you break all the bowls I have, than tell me one lie. So don't tell me a lie. I ask you, Robert, did you break the bowl?"

29. No, ma'am, I did not," said Robert; and he coloured as red as fire.

30. "Then where's Frank-did he do it?"

31. "No, mother, he did not," said Robert : for he was in hopes that when Frank came in, he should persuade him to say that he did not do it.

32. "How do you know," said his mother, "that Frank did not do it?"

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33. "Because-because-because, ma'am,' said Robert, hesitating,-" because I was in the room all the time, and I did not see him do it.”

34. "Then how was the bowl broken? If you have been in the room all the time, you can tell."