Watson's Book of Reading - another Author:George Watson General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1864 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: One of them ran and tore off the gold star. " Just look what was hanging on the ugly old fir-tree," said he: and he trampled on the branches till they cracked again. Then the tree saw the flowers in the garden in all the freshness of their beauty, and then it looked at itself and wished that it had never left the green forest. Soon after the man-servant came and cut up the tree into little pieces, and carried a whole bundle of it into the brew-house. It blazed up brightly under the large brewing-copper, sighing and cracking as it blazed. The children ran in and looked at the fire, crying " Pop! bang ! " while, at every crack, the fir-tree thought sorrowfully of the summer days in the wood, and of the winter nights when the stars were twinkling. And then it was all burnt to ashes. Ibid. CHARLIE AND THE ROBIN'S SONG. Char'-lie Clear'-er Whis'-per Rob'-iu Crav'-ing Trill'-ing Pray'-ing Chirp'-ing Bird'-lings One summer morning early. When the dew was bright to see, Our dark-eyed little Charlie Stood by his mother's knee. And he heard a robin singing, In a tree so tall and high, On the topmost bough 'twas swinging, Away up in the sky. " Mamma, the robin's praying, In the very tree-top there; Glory ! glory ! it is saying, And that is all its prayer. But God will surely hear him, And the angels standing by, For God is very near him, - Away up in the sky." " My child ! God is no nearer To robin on the tree, And does not hear him clearer Than he does you and me. For he hears the angels harping, In sun-bright glory drest, And the little birdlings chirping Down i...« less