him. "Have you had a
pleasant dream, dear?" she asked.

"Why, where is the little New Year?" said Maurice; "he was just here
with me."

"Come into Mamma's room and see what he has brought you," answered his
sister. There in a snowy white cradle he found a tiny baby brother, the
gift of the New Year. How happy Maurice was then! But he did not forget
his dream. Old Joe and Bessie had their gifts, too, and Maurice tried so
hard to be helpful that he made all his friends glad because the happy
New Year had come.

Mother Nature's House Cleaning

One morning Mother Nature stood at the door of her house looking out
over the world. King Winter's reign was over and he had gone back to
his home at the North Pole; and Spring was coming over the hill with her
three little helpers to make Mother Nature a visit.

Let us see who these helpers were. First there was roguish March with
his rosy cheeks, and his curly hair flying in the winds that blew
all about him. Next came Baby April with her apron full of violets,
daffodillies, and green grasses. Part of the time she smiled sweetly,
and part of it she frowned till the big tear drops chased each other
down her cheeks. Last came May, playing tag with the sunbeams, wandering
knee-deep in flowers, and calling to the birds that sang around her:

Mother Nature watched them coming and murmured, "Such a dirty world as
King Winter has left behind him! It must be cleaned up before the little
girls, April and May, come, but March I am sure will want to help me do
it."

She beckoned to the frolicsome boy who came racing down the hill to
see what she wanted. "I must have some rain to wash away all this dirty
snow," she said; so March whistled to the East Wind, who blew together
the rain-clouds, and soon the tiny rain drops were busy at work washing
the floors of the world, and in a short time the snow was all gone.
Then Mother Nature wanted the sky ceilings cleaned, so this time March
whistled to the West Wind who began to sweep away the cloud cobwebs from
the sky till the cheery old sun smiled again, and shone Mother Nature a
bright "good morning."

"Now March," said she, "there is one more thing you can do to help. You
must start the work for Baby April." Then March, with the South Wind
to help him, awoke the seeds, whispered to the trees to begin to bud,
started the brooks singing, and called the robins back from the South.

When his visit was over Mother Nature thanked him for