The World of Nature is interesting to us because we live in the midst of it. It is all about us. We need to know our various associates in the plant and animal worlds to appreciate their beauty, feel their kindness, and realize their uses to us. We should know, also, how we may protect and conserve these wonderful gifts which God has loaned to us for a while; gifts which are not ours to waste and destroy, but merely to use and enjoy.

In Part I of this book you will find interesting stories and poems about the world in which we live. First, "A Woodsman's Creed," by Lew Sarett, interprets for you the effect that trees, birds, and wild folk which roam the woods may have upon the life and character of a boy who has been born and brought up in a great city. The stories and poems that follow are arranged for you in five groups: animals, birds, flowers, trees, seasons. The selections about elephants and bears bring to you the pleasure and knowledge that come to such close observers of nature as Kipling, Roosevelt, and Enos Mills. Thoreau, the great naturalist, tells you how deeply he feels the loss of the nobler animals and calls our attention to the need of preserving our wild life from extermination.

The poems which introduce the bird and flower groups of Part I were chosen for their simplicity. They are to be read aloud purely for enjoyment, not for the purpose of gaining scientific facts about birds and flowers. Other poems of these groups require more thoughtful interpretation. The joyous songs of the birds you hear in "The Throstle," by Tennyson, and "Robert of Lincoln," by Bryant, may train your ear to become more attentive to

the world of music all about you. The joy that comes to us through our association with flowers and trees is beautifully interpreted by the poets. They express our appreciation far better than we are able to express it ourselves. These poets also awaken us to new joys of which we are often unaware in this land of birds and flowers and trees.

No country in the world has been more richly blessed in the matter of its natural resources than America. We cannot long remain the great land of freedom and opportunity without protecting and conserving our forests, birds, wild flowers, in fact, each and every one of our natural resources. Boys and girls can do much to further the great movement for conservation. Ernest Harold Baynes gives you some helpful suggestions in "A Famous Bird Club." Birds and animals have many natural enemies in their own world, and are kept constantly on guard in an effort to protect themselves. "A Night with Ruff Grouse," by Clarence Hawkes, is an illuminating account of the terrors and dangers that lie in wait for this bird even during its sleeping hours. Unfortunately, many men regard the destruction of bird and animal life as a legitimate pastime. Such writers as Edwin Markham and Ben Hur Lampman tell you their personal views of this so-called sport.

You will wish to extend your readings upon this subject, becoming acquainted with the authors and poets who have done their best work in the interpretation of nature. It is to be hoped that the interest here aroused will hereafter lead you not only to love and read about nature, but also to conserve and protect her.

There must have been something prophetic in Mac's fear of thunder when he was a puppy. For, though all puppies are afraid of thunder, and most grown dogs for that matter, still, Mac's fear, according to Tom Jennings, his master, was more than that of the ordinary dog. That is, until the blow came; after that it 10 was different with Mac.

Tom

Maybe he thought that lightning, having smitten him once, would smite him no more. Let this be as it may, the fact is that Mac, after his second year, feared thunder no more. Jennings, his wife, and three children had just driven home from church at Breton Junction, and Tom, assisted by Frank, his boy of sixteen, 20 had put up his horses. Then, as the cloud was an unusually threatening one, they all gathered in the parlor.

When the storm burst on this household, Mac scratched at the door. Tom Jennings, a tall, rawboned, a tall, rawboned, sunburnt man, at once rose and let the dog in with some good-humored remark. Mac was a young setter, with white, silken, curly coat and

black, silken, curly ears. He looked 30 self-consciously into the faces of the family, who were smiling at his fears; then, with a queer expression on his face, as if he, too, knew it was funny, he went and lay down under the table. He always did this in a thunderstorm.

Just before the blow came they heard him tap the floor with his tail. Immediately there was the shiver of broken glass, a crash, a child's scream, 40 and for a moment, as the lamp went out, blackness. There was no very clear recollection of what happened afterwards. Having assured himself that wife and children were safe, Tom Jennings, followed by the boy Frank, ran out into the yard by the side door which they left open, and looked at the roof of the house. If any fire had started it had been 50 drowned at once by deluges of rain. When father and son returned, Mrs. Jennings had lighted another lamp. Here they all were, with white faces. Only Mac was gone.

For three days they searched for him, in the attic, in the cellar, in the barns and outhouses, and in the woods