ne from any other part of the house had courage to go into that room
after such a tragedy.

* * * * *

[Illustration: TOO MUCH TURKEY--THE KEEPER'S DREAM.--DRAWN BY F. S.
CHURCH.]

* * * * *

=The Raven Stone.=--In Germany a superstition prevails that if the eggs
are taken from a raven's nest, boiled, and replaced, the old raven will
bring a root or stone to the nest, which he fetches from the sea. This
"raven stone" confers great fortune on its owner, and has the power of
rendering him invisible when worn on the arm. The stone is said to make
the nest itself invisible; it must be sought with the aid of a mirror.
In Pomerania and Ruegen the method is somewhat different. The parent
birds must have attained the age of one hundred years, and the would-be
possessor of the precious "stone" must climb up and kill one of the
young ravens. Then the aggressor descends, taking careful note of the
tree. The old raven immediately returns with the stone, which he puts in
the dead bird's beak, and thereupon both tree and nest become invisible.
The man, however, feels for the tree, and on reaching the nest, he
carries off the stone in triumph. The Swabian peasantry maintain that
young ravens are nourished solely by the dew from heaven during the
first nine days of their existence. As they are naked, and of a light
color, the old birds do not believe that they are their progeny, and
consequently neglect to feed them; but they occasionally cast a glance
at the nest, and when the young ones begin to show a little black down
on their breasts, by the tenth day, the parents bring them the first
carrion.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: Music: Good-Night and Good-Morning.]

[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]

LETTER FROM A LITTLE GIRL ABOUT "HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE."

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, _November 6, 1879_.

MR. EDITOR,--I don't know who to put at the head of this letter,
because I don't know your first name. I wonder if it is Uncle John.

Papa found me reading what he called a "trash paper" the other day,
and he said he would take a good paper for me if I would not read
any more of that kind of trash; and he said you was going to print
a nice paper for young folks, and this morning he brought one
home--the very first number; but he said he was disappointed in the
size of it, and that it was not quite half