Stories Pictures Tell Volume II Part 3

All these books will surely fall, Ink stains soon will cover all.

Did you think that you were hid?

Or perchance of them were rid?

Don't you know your tail's in sight Of those kittens' eyes so bright?

You are wise to keep quite still, For they're watching with a will.

Maybe you can make them think It's the cord that ties the ink.

Mother Cat looks very wise; She will know it by its size.

She has taught her kittens, too, Just exactly what to do.

Which will get you? Have a care, For to lose you they'll not dare.

Though they're frightened, we can see With her help it's you must flee.

Ah, you moved it! Such a fuss!

All the things are in a muss!

And they caught you, as I thought; You're a nuisance, so they ought.

Which one did it? I can't tell.

All I know is, something fell.

But they all look very proud, And their purr is very loud.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How did the kittens happen to find the mouse? How did they get up on the table?

Where did the mouse try to hide? Why was that not a good place? What were the kittens afraid of? Who came to help them? What did she do?

How does she look? Which kitten is the more daring? What is between the black kitten and the mouse? What will very likely happen to the books and papers? Which way do you think the white kitten will jump?

the mother cat? Which one will catch the mouse?

=To the Teacher:= Encourage the children to talk about their own pets at home, and to draw pictures of them. The drawings may not be good in themselves, but such practice will make the children more observant, and so prepare the way for better drawing later.

=The story of the artist.= Madame Ronner, the woman who painted this picture, was very fond of cats, as you can easily imagine. She had a very large cage made for her pets, with wire over the top and gla.s.s for the sides. She had the sides made of gla.s.s so that she could always watch the cats when she painted, no matter in what part of the cage they happened to be; and of course the top was of wire so they could have plenty of air. The floor of the cage was well cus.h.i.+oned, and there were several hanging bobs for the cats to play with.

Her father was an artist, and he, although blind, was her only teacher in drawing and painting. She would describe her pictures to him, and he would criticize and tell her how to improve them.

When she was only sixteen years old she exhibited her first picture, which she called "Cats in the Window." The picture received a great deal of praise and was sold immediately. Every one supposed she would paint more pictures of cats, because she could paint them so well, but for some reason she began to paint dogs instead. Her dog pictures won much popularity also and for many years she supported herself and her blind father by her paintings of dogs.

After her father's death she married and moved from Amsterdam to Brussels, where she again became interested in painting cats. It was then that she did her best work. One of her best pictures painted at that time was "A Fascinating Tale."

Madame Ronner had so much care and trouble all her life, it is a wonder she could paint such bright, happy pictures. She was very poor much of her life, and had not only the care and support of her blind father but later on of an invalid husband and several little children. Still with it all she must have found time for a frolic with these fluffy little kittens, to have known just how to paint them at their best.

Her little children must have liked to play with them, too.

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? Who taught her to draw and paint? How could he, when he was blind? What other animals did Madame Ronner paint besides cats? Which did she paint the better?

What makes you think she must have liked cats? Where did she put them when she wanted to paint them? Why did the cage have gla.s.s sides? Why did it have wire over the top? the soft cus.h.i.+ons on the floor? What did she have for the cats to play with?

A HELPING HAND

=Original Picture:= Corcoran Gallery, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

=Artist:= Emile Renouf (r? n[=oo]f).

=Birthplace:= Paris, France.

=Dates:= Born, 1845; died, 1894.

=Questions to arouse interest.= Of what is this a picture? Where are this man and little girl? Where do you think they are going? What do you suppose the man does for a living? why? How is he dressed? What makes you think he loves the little girl? For what is the long pole with the rope around it used? How is the man guiding the boat now?

What do you see ahead that he is trying to turn away from? What is the little girl doing? How is she dressed? Why do you think she cannot help very much? What kind of a boat is it? What else do you see in the boat? in the picture? Why is it called "A Helping Hand"?

=The story of the picture.= When we go fis.h.i.+ng for a few hours or half a day we think it great fun, but a real fisherman, who earns his living that way, has to work very hard. Fishermen usually start out at four or five o'clock in the morning, and do not come home again until late at night. Sometimes they go away for several days, fis.h.i.+ng night and day.

Very probably this little girl is not awake mornings when her father eats his breakfast and starts out. He wears a rain-proof hat and heavy coat, for one never can tell what the weather will be out on the water. He must take a good lunch with him, too, for he is sure to get hungry. The mother will see that the lunch is ready.

When the wind is blowing in the right direction he puts up the heavy pole you see in the center of the boat, lets out the sail, and tightens the rope. Then, with a good wind, how fast he can go! He knows just where each kind of fish likes to stay, and goes straight to the very best place. Here he drops his heavy iron anchor into the water. This anchor is fastened to the boat and keeps it from drifting.

Sometimes the fish do not bite at all, and he has very few to carry home after his hard day's work. Then again his great boat is filled full of s.h.i.+ny fish. "Fisherman's luck," that is called.

He probably uses that net with the long wooden handle to help him catch the big fish. He may have used it also to catch his minnows for bait. No doubt he catches all the minnows he needs before he starts, because they live in the shallow water near the sh.o.r.e and it is easier to catch them there.

Some fishermen use very long nets, something like those you see on a tennis court, only wider and stronger. It takes several men to manage them. The fish get tangled up in the net, and then it is very easy to catch them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: From a Thistle Print, Copyright Detroit Publis.h.i.+ng Co.

_A Helping Hand_]

A flat-bottomed boat is the best for fis.h.i.+ng, they say. You can move about in it without much danger of tipping over, and it holds more.

The fish often think it is a wharf or a good cool place under which to hide, and you can catch them easily.

Very likely this little girl has never been out with her father on one of his long trips, for it would be much too tiresome for so small a girl. It would seem, rather, as if he had finished his day's work, and was taking his little daughter with him on some short errand.

Perhaps they are on their way home, and there is something in that sack the mother needs. Just now there is no wind, or it is not in the right direction, for they do not use the sail.

Can you see the other oar? It must be in the bottom of the boat. The man must row hard with the oar he is pulling at or they will run into that great rock you see ahead.

It looks as if those little sailboats far off in the distance are standing still. Perhaps they have no oars, and are waiting for the wind to come up and blow them home. If they were anch.o.r.ed the sails would be rolled up and put away. A good sailor must take good care of his boat and sails. If a sail is not stretched out in the sun and allowed to dry after a heavy dew or rain, it will rot and soon fall to pieces.

A sailor knows how to tie a very tight knot which is called a "sailor's knot." He needs to know how to tie this, for if the knots are not tight and his rope should come untied, or anything give way when there is a heavy wind, the boat would very likely be overturned.

The little girl looks as if she were putting all her strength into those tiny hands that cannot near go around the oar. How pleased her father seems to be to have her try to help him! He knows she is doing the best she can, and he lets her think she is helping row the boat.

It must help him somewhat, just to know that she is trying so hard and wants to help.

She must slip about on that seat every time the oar moves, for her feet do not touch the bottom of the boat. She will be tired when she reaches home, and warm too, no doubt.

They will not lose their hats even if the wind does blow, for the little girl's bonnet is tied under her chin, and her father has pulled his rubber hat tight over his head. Often, when he is out fis.h.i.+ng on the deep sea, the spray dashes over the fisherman's boat, and he is glad to have a rubber hat and coat to wear.

The little girl wears a large handkerchief around her neck, fastened under her arms. What do you think is in the pockets of her ap.r.o.n to make them puff out so? It must be in the summer time, or she would surely wear a coat and rubber boots. What a big, heavy boat it is! No wonder it takes such a large oar to row it.