////• // i, ///■/,■ ft i 



Now, everyone knows thai over; brook .> r creek or river i . made up of 



many drop for the tunc being, united tO| ! doing 



me thin^, whkfa is usually simply flowing down hill. What had hap 



pened to this special brook that morning wai that during the rain man 



Mil Dees added to it, end it became excited end began to flow more 

 iwiftly, end wiry drop that could reach the hank or bottom snatched up 



a tiny load of earth and began to carry it along. But every drop thu 

 down very soon struck so hard that it loosened another WttJch 



another drop snatched up and carried on down stream. After a time there 

 many drops carrying loads and bumping along, knocking loose more 

 earth, that the whole brook looked muddy. Every drop in that brook that 

 touched the bottom or bank used its own little piece of earth or gravel as a 

 crow-bar or pick-axe with which to pry up other bits of flirt and gravel for 

 the on-coming drops to carry. The drops all hastened on, working hard 

 together to dig the channel of the brook wider and deeper. Sometimes in 

 steep places the drops would get so wild with haste that several together 

 would pick up a pebble or a stone and with this they would batter down large 

 of the bank or scrape out great holes in the bottom of the stream. 



On and on the brook flows — a gang of workmen, each using his load as 

 a tool, moving in close procession and working double quick. But as soon 

 as the brook reaches a plain or level, the drops begin to feel tired and suddenly 

 conclude that they have worked hard enough for that time; more than that 

 each one feels inclined to drop his own load at once. The drops carrying 

 the larger pieces of gravel and rocks get tired first and throw their burdens 

 down, while the drops carrying the fine dirt and mud are not so tired and carry 

 their loads farther; but finally they, too, throw them down. If we look where 

 there has been a flooded brook, we shall find that the gravel is dropped first 

 always, and the fine mud carried farther on before it is deposited. 



So, now, when we see a brook or stream all roiled and muddy and noisy, 

 we shall know that it is working very hard, and with its thousands of tiny 

 pick-axes is making its channel wider and deeper. But when we find a brook 

 just babbling along — the less it has to do, the more it babbles, the water so 

 clear that every pebble on the bottom is visible, we shall know it is in a very 

 lazy mood, and is not doing any work to speak of that day, but is just loitering 

 along, catching sunbeams and playing with the fish. 



Themes for English Exerc i 

 Where the Waters of the Brook Co 

 The story of a little boat that was set afloat on the brook and continued 

 floating until it reached the sea. On what streams would it sail? Through 

 what townships, counties, states and countries would it pass' What cities 

 would it sail by? 



How a Stream Works and Plays 

 When does a stream work and when does it play? Tell how the waters 

 look when at work, and how the work is done. How and when and why does 

 a brook give up its load ? 



