ey eating a sour pickle, and making very wry
faces.

The Deacon said: "Whenever you come across a word that you don't
understand thoroughly, don't rest until you have found out all you can
about it."

Sometimes words grow out of queer things and in very odd ways. There's
"sardonic," for instance. As applied to a grin, it means one that a man
makes if he is forced to laugh when he doesn't want to, or tries to smile
when he really is ready to cry out with pain.

Now, the birds tell me that in the island called Sardinia there used to
grow a plant with a very disagreeable taste; and whenever a piece of it
was put into anybody's mouth, it made his face pucker up into a broad,
unwilling smile--made him "laugh the wrong side of his mouth," as I've
heard boys say. Well, in course of time, the name of the island was given
to the plant, and then, with a slight change, it was used to describe the
wry face the taster made.

So you see, my dears, some words are like puzzles. By the way, I'd like to
know what you yourselves can find out about this same word "sardonic," for
it may be that those chattering little friends of mine, the birds, have
been trying to make an April fool of your Jack,--perhaps, just to see if I
can smile a "sardonic" smile when I find out what they've done.

A POSER FROM THE LITTLE SCHOOLMA'AM.

This letter, and the picture I give you with it, have just come to me. Now
let's see what your wits are worth, my dears.

The Red School-house.

MY DEAR JACK: I have a favor to ask of you. Will you please show to
your chicks a copy of the picture which I now send to you, and ask
them to give you the one word which will express the meaning of it.
You can tell them, as a clue, if you like, that by means of what
the picture means they can find out what it means.--Truly your
friend, THE LITTLE SCHOOLMA'AM.

[Illustration]

GREENLAND.

Letters have come from Andrew A. Bateman, Frank Polley, M. E. Andrews,
Edward Liddon Patterson, Bessie B. Roelafson, and Horatio Warren, all
telling much the same story--that a man named Eric sailed from Iceland in
the year 983, and, reaching the west coast of Greenland, saw there large
herds of reindeer browsing on the meadows. This pleased him, and he called
the country "Greenland."

The Little Schoolma'am says that this is correct, and adds that in some
parts G