_Nine Volumes. Profusely Ill.u.s.trated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.00 each._

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE MERRY OWLETS.

There were three little owls that had slept all day In their downy nest in a dead tree"s hollow; Said the first: "It"s time to go out and play, I hear the good-night of the chimney-swallow!"

"Oh no," said the second; "the sun is high.

Who wants to be blind as a bat?--not I!"

But the third said: "Rats! we have slept enough!

Let"s go, anyhow, and play blindman"s-buff!"

SAMMY. "Who is the father of his country?"

JIMMIE. "George Washington."

SAMMY. "Correct. Who is his uncle?"

JIMMIE. "Why, I don"t know."

SAMMY. "Uncle Sam."

MOTHER. "I really don"t see how I"m going to make both ends meet."

BOBBY. "Why, mamma, you give me hold of one end, and you take the other, and we"ll stretch it."

WILLIAM PENN.

Robbin and Dobbin, William Penn, He was one of the best of men.

He was a Governor good and great Of Pennsylvania"s early State.

And he ruled by love, as a man should do, For he was a Quaker kind and true.

Robbin and Dobbin, William Penn, He was one of the best of men.

A bee is a "busy bee," for it is said that in order to obtain enough honey for a load it has to visit many hundreds of flowers. It averages twenty trips a day, and from twenty to fifty pounds of honey are yearly produced by the hive, according to its size. Statistics taken from European countries place the number of beehives and their output of honey yearly as follows:

Germany, 1,910,000 hives, with an output of 45,000,000 pounds; Spain, 1,690,000 hives, with an output of 42,000,000 pounds; Austria, 1,550,000 hives, with an output of 40,000,000 pounds; France has 950,000 hives, producing 23,000,000 pounds; Holland, 240,000 hives, producing 6,000,000 pounds; Belgium with 200,000 hives produces 5,000,000 pounds, and Russia with 110,000 hives produces 2,000,000 pounds.

Europe is estimated to yield from its beehives 40,000 tons of honey, valued close on to $11,000,000, and its wax, 15,000 tons, valued at $7,500,000.

This is a large and rich amount of sweets for the little busy bee to bring to mankind yearly for nothing.

MOTHER. "Didn"t I tell you to put the mince pie away this morning?"

JACK. "Yes, mamma, you did; but you didn"t say where to put it, so I stored it away in my stomach."

MOTHER. "Jack, what have you done with the money you saved up last week?"

JOHNNY. "Papa told me to save for a rainy day; yesterday was the first one we had, so I spent it."

A STUDY IN NATURAL HISTORY.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"CAN WE CATCH THAT OLD CROW?"

"WELL, IF ONE OF US CAN"T DO IT, WE"LL SEE WHAT TWO CAN DO."

"HA, HA! WE"LL SHOW YOU WHAT TOUCAN DO!"

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