et
Sparkled up its thanks.

Blossoms floating,
Mimic boating,
Fishes darting past,
Swift, and strong, and happy,
Widening very fast.

Bubbling, singing,
Rushing, ringing,
Flecked with shade and sun.
Soon our pretty brooklet
To the sea has run.

LESSON XXI.

WORK OF FLOWING RIVERS.

Would you like to know more about brooks and rivers--about the work they
do?

Notice what happens when it rains. Little tiny streams are formed, which
chase each other down the slopes. See how they cut away the loose soil
and carry it off. Notice how muddy this loose soil makes the water. What
becomes of this loose soil, or mud?

Fill a jar with water. Put in a handful of mud from the nearest stream.
Shake the jar, and the water is muddy. Let it stand awhile. What do you
notice? The water is clear, and the soil has settled to the bottom.

Follow the streams to the valley where they unite to form a river. When
does the load of mud it carries settle? Here, where the water scarcely
moves, we find some of the soil spread out over the ground near the
river banks.

You have seen a river overflow its banks. When the water went down, it
left a layer of rich mud, which made the soil very fertile.

[Illustration: "THESE FERTILE MEADOWS WERE FORMED OUT OF THE LOAM."]

Have you never seen the low ground on the banks of rivers covered with
rich grass and clover?

Well, these fertile meadows were formed out of the loam that has been
washed down the streams from the far-off hills and mountains.

Look at the jar again. Which settled first, the coarse material or fine
loam? What kind of a deposit will be made in the upper course of a
river? What kind toward the mouth?

High up in the valley, when the river is low, we see _pebbles_ in its
bed; lower down, the pebbles are worn into _gravel;_ and as we get still
farther down, we find the gravel ground into _sand_.

Examine the stones found along the shore of a brook or river. Some are
quite smooth and round. They were not always so, but had sharp edges. Do
you know what made them round?

When there are heavy rains, the rushing water sweeps large stones down
the mountain side and into the valley. As they are carried down the
stream, the stones, by rubbing against each other, are smoothed and
rounded and ground into pebbles. The pebbles themselves are ground at
last into gravel and fine sand.

This is what the streams are doing every