148 Bird - Lore 



EXCERPT FROM "IN JUNE" (For a child) 



So sweet, so sweet the caUing of the thrushes, 



The calling, cooing, wooing, everywhere; 

 So sweet the water's song through reeds and rushes, 



The plover's piping note, now here, now there. 



—By Nora Perry. U. S. A. 



"THE YELLOW VIOLET" and "THE GLADNESS OF NATURE" (Recitations) 

 By William Cullen Bryant. U. S. A. 1 794-1878. 



"MAY" and "TO SENECA LAKE" (Recitations) 



By James G. Percival. U. S. A. 1795-1856. 



(See Songs of Three Centuries, edited by J. G. Whittier.) 



"THE WAY TO SING" (Recitation) 



The birds must know. Who wisely sings By snatches through his weary brain 



Will sing as they; To help him rest; 



The common air has generous wings, When next he goes that road again. 



Songs make their way. An empty nest 



No messenger to run before, On leafless bough will make him sigh, 



Devising plan; "Ah me! last spring 



No mention of the place or hour Just here I heard, in passing by. 



To any man; That rare bird sing!" 

 No waiting till some sound betrays 



A listening ear; But while he sighs, remembering 



No different voice, no new delays. How sweet the song. 



If steps draw near. The little bird, on tireless wing, 



Is borne along 



"What bird is that? Its song is good." In other air, and other men 



And eager eyes With weary feet. 



Go peering through the dusky wood, On other roads, the simple strain 



In glad surprise; Are finding sweet. 



Then late at night, when by his fire The birds must know. Who wisely sings 



The traveler sits. Will sing as they; 



Watching the flame grow brighter, higher. The common air has generous wings, 



The sweet song flits Songs make their way. 



By Helen Hunt. U. S. A. 1831-1885. 



It would add much to the recitation of some or all of these poems by American 

 writers, if a brief biography were given after each recitation, telling the writer's 

 birthplace and a few facts of interest concerning his or her life and contribu- 

 tions to literature. Time is never better spent than in making the acquaint- 

 ance of good literature, especially poetry of merit. One poem true to the spirit 

 of Nature is better than a book of jingles or effusive descriptions about natural 

 beauties. The poems given above have been selected first, for their inspiration, 

 second, for their truth, and third, for their merit. They are suitable not only for 

 a Bird and Arbor Day programme but also, for a delightful exercise in English. 

 A novel addition to such a programme, would be a large map of North and 

 3puth America, showing in colors the principal routes of migration of our birds. 



