ow the surface. It will
appear again, bubbling out of the mountain side as a _spring_. The
spring is the beginning of a river.

Did you ever see a spring? Where was it? Was it shaded by trees? Where
did the water come from? Did you drink from it? Was the water pure and
cold? Where did the water go after leaving the spring?

[Illustration: "DID YOU EVER SEE A SPRING?"]

From the spring flows a tiny, thread-like stream, so small that we can
easily step across it. This little stream is called a _rill_.

Other rills meet this, and form a larger stream, which is called a
_brook_ or _creek_.

[Illustration: RIVER FROM ITS SOURCE TO ITS MOUTH.]

As the brook flows on, it is joined by other streams, until, little by
little, it becomes a wide and deep _river_ on which large boats may
float. At last, it finds its way into the ocean.

Where a river begins is its _source_. The place where it flows into
another body of water is called its _mouth_. The land over which it
flows is its _bed_.

A river has two banks. As we go toward its mouth, the right bank is on
our right hand, and the left bank is on our left.

Do you live near a river? Where does the water come from? In what
direction does it flow? Why does it flow in such direction? Does it wind
about much? Does it flow into the ocean, or into another river?

Is the water fresh or salt? What grow on its banks? Near which bank do
you live?

Make a picture of a spring, and a brook flowing from it. Draw the tall
grass and plants that grow near it.

Write the names of all the rivers you have seen.

_Write the following:_

Water flowing out of the ground is called a spring.

From springs flow small streams called rills, brooks, or creeks.

A large stream of water flowing through the land is called a river.

A small stream of water flowing into a larger one is called a tributary.

The source of a river is where it begins. The place where it empties
into another body of water is its mouth.

Every river has two banks--a right-hand bank and a left-hand bank.

LESSON XIX.

MORE ABOUT RIVERS.

Let us have another chat about the river. We may fancy that we are
following it in its course to the sea. We shall then learn for ourselves
many things we do not know about rivers.

We will begin our journey at its source. Here it is a little rill,
formed by water that trickles from a spring, or by the melting of snow.

As it flows on, it is joined by many other littl