138
Coal 139
Fire 140
CHAMBERS'S SCIENCE READERS.
BOOK I.
[Illustration: He sat down on the rug with her.]
THE CAT.
PART 1.
walk'-ing
watched
ground
shak'-ing
thought
stroked
fore'-paws
toes
knew
smooth
yawn
stretched
sheaths
won'-der
mis-take'
claw
1. Pussy came walking along the garden-path. Harry watched her, and saw
that she did not like the damp ground.
2. She jumped over the pools, and then began to run, shaking her paws
as she got to the house.
3. 'Now, a dog does not mind wet feet,' Harry thought; 'he will go into
the water, but Pussy will never go into the water.
4. 'She does not even use water to wash herself. Come here, Pussy! You
don't like to wet your nice fur, do you?'
5. As Harry was always kind to pussy, she let him pick her up and carry
her into the house.
6. He sat down on the rug with her, and stroked her glossy back. One of
her fore-paws rested on his hand, and he began to look at it.
7. 'Here are five toes,' he said, 'but what funny toes they are!' He
gently turned the paw over, and saw the sharp nails drawn in under the
fur.
8. The cat knew that he would not hurt her, so she kept her claws in,
and let him feel them on the outside.
9. He found under the paw a soft smooth pad. 'Now I know how it is that
she can walk so softly!' he said. 'This must help her to walk in that
way.'
10. Here pussy gave a great yawn, and stretched out both her paws, claws
and all. Harry saw the sharp nails like hooks, and watched them go back
into their sheaths. Then she curled herself up on his lap.
11. He took hold of one of her hind-feet, and found only four toes upon
it. 'I wonder if this is a mistake,' he said, 'or if the other one is
the same.' Yes, it was just the same: there were four toes, with a claw
at the end of each.
[Illustration: Cat's Paw.]
THE CAT
PART 2.
knives
bot'-tom
should
tear'-ing
poured
clean
sauc'-er
tongue
touch
rough
kit'-chen
cous'-ins
coun'-tries
peo'-ple
thought
be-lieve'
1. 'What long sharp teeth she has got!' cried Harry, as pussy sat up
and opened her mouth. 'They look like knives. There are two at the top,
and two at the bottom!
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