an usual, and emerging from the
woods, warm and weary with their long walk, they threw themselves down
upon the rock over which in the early day, the shadows of the trees
refreshingly fell. Amelia turned her face toward the Run, and lulled by
the gentle murmuring of the water, and the humming of the insects,
was soon quietly asleep; Susie, with an apron full of burs, was making
furniture for the play-house which they were arranging in a cleft of
the rock; and Tidy, who carried the books, was busily turning over the
leaves and amusing herself with the pictures.

"My sakes!" she exclaimed presently, "what a funny cretur! See that
great lump on his back!" and she pointed with her finger to the picture
of a camel. "Miss Susie! what IS that? Is it a lame horse?"

"Why no, Tidy, that's a camel; 'tisn't a horse at all. I was reading
that very place yesterday,--let me see," and taking the book she read
very intelligently a brief account of the wonderful animal.

"How queer!" said Tidy, deeply interested. "And is there something in
this book about all the pictures?"

"Yes," answered Susie, "if you could only read now, you would know about
every one. See here, on the next page is an elephant; see his great
tusks and his monstrous long trunk," and the child read to her attentive
listener of another of the wonders of creation.

[illustration omitted]

"How I wish I could read,--why can't I?" asked Tidy; and the little
colored face was turned up full of animation. "I don't b'lieve but I
could learn as well as you."

"Why of course you could," answered Amelia, who had risen quite
refreshed by her short nap. "I don't see why not. You can't go to school
you know, because mother wants you to work; but I could teach you just
as well as not."

"Oh, could you? will you?--do begin!" cried the eager child. "Oh, Miss
Mely, if you only would, I'd do any thing for you."

"Look here," said Amelia, seizing the book from her sister's hands, and
by virtue of superior age, constituting herself the teacher; "do you
see those lines?" and she pointed to the columns of letters on the first
page.

"Yes," said the ready pupil, all attention.

"Well, those are letters,--the alphabet, they call it. Every one of them
has got a name, and when you have learned to know them all perfectly, so
that you can call them all right wherever you see 'em, why, then you can
read any thing."

"Any thing?" asked Tidy in amazement.

"Yes, any thing,--all kin