Chapter II

Lincoln did not like to see any one unkind to animals.

Once, when he was a boy, Lincoln was standing on a log making a speech. The boys were clapping their hands and shouting.

One of the boys saw a turtle. He picked it up and threw it down at Lincoln’s feet. The poor turtle could not crawl away with its broken shell.

Lincoln did not like this. He jumped off the log and said, “Whoever did that is a coward!”

The boys were sorry for the poor turtle. They gently picked it up and carried it down to the water.

One day when Lincoln was a man, he saw a pig trying to get out of the mud.

Lincoln had on some new clothes. He did not want to get them muddy, so he passed on.

But he could not help thinking about the poor pig. He turned back and helped the pig out.

Lincoln became a very great man. He was so wise and kind that the people made him President.

He did so much for his country that we keep his birthday on the 12th of February.

THE FIRST FLAG.

Over one hundred years ago, there lived in Philadelphia a young woman named Betsy Ross.

From the time she was a little girl she liked to sew. When her husband died she made money by her needlework.

One day there came to her little brown house the great General Washington.

He wanted a new flag for his soldiers to carry in their war against the King of England.

When he heard of the beautiful needlework of Betsy Ross, he came to ask her to help him.

Together they planned a flag that had thirteen stripes and thirteen stars.

A few days later Betsy Ross showed General Washington the flag. She had cut it and sewed it with her own hands.

General Washington was so pleased that he told his soldiers to have their flags made at once.

Soon the beautiful stars and stripes were flying all over the country.

In Philadelphia, the little house where Betsy Ross lived is still standing.

LONGFELLOW’S ARM-CHAIR.

Near the poet Longfellow’s home there was a blacksmith shop. A beautiful chestnut tree grew beside it and spread its branches over the shop.

Little children often looked in at the open door on their way home from school. They liked to see the sparks fly from the anvil.

The poet Longfellow sometimes passed by the shop. He thought it was such a pretty picture that he wrote a poem about it. He called the poem “The Village Blacksmith.”

Longfellow loved the tree and felt sorry when it was cut down. He and the chestnut tree had grown old together.

About that time Longfellow had a birthday. He was an old, white-haired man.

The children wanted to show their love for him. They had the wood from the tree made into a chair and gave their pennies to pay for it.

This gift made Longfellow very happy. He thanked the children by writing a beautiful poem, called “From My Arm-Chair.”

THE ROAD OF THE LOVING HEART.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the beautiful poem called “Singing.” It is in a book which he named “A Child’s Garden of Verses.”

He was sick much of the time and had to live in a warm country. His home was far away in the South Seas on a beautiful island.

Robert Louis Stevenson built his house on a hillside among the large forest trees. Here the flying foxes came to rest. At night great bats flew about.

The house was three miles from the nearest town. The trees grew close and high along the path that led to it. They used packhorses to carry things from the town to the house.

A beautiful stream ran through the ground. Orange trees grew along the banks. Here Robert Louis Stevenson came to bathe and swim.

Mrs. Stevenson had a garden in which grew oranges, lemons, bananas, and breadfruit trees.

She had cows, and pigs, and chickens in the barn-yard.

Robert Louis Stevenson had a brown pony named Jack. He and Jack were great friends and had many fine rides together.

In this warm country Robert Louis Stevenson grew so much better that he once said,

“It is like a fairy story that I should become well and strong. I go boating, riding, bathing, and work hard with my wood-knife in the forest.”