Men do brave deeds on the sea, in far-off lands, or in the air, and these deeds are celebrated in story and song. A thrilling story or a beautiful poem opens the doors to a new pleasure in living. Boys and girls, like men and women, have not only their own daily experience to draw upon, but through books, magazines, and newspapers, they can also draw upon the experience of others, and in this way they may live many lives in one.

Aladdin had a wonderful lamp. By rubbing it he could be anywhere he chose or could possess anything he desired. Such a lamp the reader of good books possesses. You come in from your work or play, curl yourself up in a big chair before the fire, open your book, and in a twinkling you are whisked away to a new world. In imagination you are with Colonel Lindbergh, or Commander Byrd, or on a ship sailing the Polar Seas, or you are in search of a hidden treasure. You have it in your power to take these wonderful trips instantly; no tickets required, no long delays. You may go on a journey to the other side of the world, or out on a western ranch. What is still more wonderful, you may go back a century, or ten centuries; through this Aladdin's lamp of reading you are master not only of space, but also of time. The first joy of reading, then, is the privilege of taking part in the experiences of men of every time and from every portion of the world.

The second joy of reading is even

greater. Not only the world of adventure is open to you by means of books, but also a life enriched by the wisdom that has been gathered from the thousand poets and historians, as bees gather honey from a thousand flowers.

There was once a boy in a frontier cabin who was eager to know all that could be learned about life. His days were long and hard, but he was dreaming of things to come. At night by the light of the pine logs blazing in the fireplace, this boy read and studied. Books were hard to get; sometimes he would tramp for miles to borrow one that a distant farmer possessed. Thus Abraham Lincoln found the second of the joys of reading, the stored-up wisdom of the race, which he made his own in preparation for the day when he was to be not merely a student of history but a maker of history as well.

Through books our eyes are opened to the beauties of the world in which we live. This is the third joy of reading. There is a famous painting called "The Song of the Lark" which shows a peasant girl on her way to work in the fields, sickle in hand, in the early morning. She has stopped to listen to the flood of melody that pours from the sky above her and is trying in vain to see the bird which is singing the glorious song. Her face is lighted up for the moment in the presence of a beauty that she feels but does not understand. The painter interprets for us the effect of beauty upon this simple peasant girl.

The poet, on the other hand, translates the song into beautiful language; we read and are made happy.

Bird, bird-song, flower, and tree; the west wind as it drives the fallen leaves before it or hurries the clouds across the sky or piles up the great masses of waters of the sea; the mountain that rises high above the surrounding plain-all these the poet helps us to see and feel. So once more our Aladdin's lamp brings us into scenes of enchantment, multiplies our lives, opens our eyes to the wonders and beauties that lie about us.

These, then, are the three joys of reading: First, to be able to travel at will in any country and in any period of time and to taste the salt of adventure: to hear the great stories that the human race has garnered through centuries of living; to know earth's heroes and to become a part of the company that surrounds them. Second, to enter into the inheritance of wisdom that has come down from the past or that animates those who are the builders of our present world. This latter wisdom may be illustrated by a flight across the ocean, an achievement in mechanical science, or the conquest of disease. Third, to have our eyes opened to the beauty of the world in which we live. All about us is a world of wonder as interesting as that fairy world which so delighted you when you read your fairy books. Poems and stories of Nature are the gateway to this new fairy world.

This book to which you are here introduced is planned in such a way as to help you find these three joys of reading. It is a generous book, filled with good things. It is an Aladdin's

lamp. Take it to your favorite chair or nook and test it. Do you wish to go back to King Arthur's time and meet his famous knights? The power is yours for the asking. At another time your book will take you back to the day when heroes were giving their lives in Greece and in Switzerland or in our own America to win for themselves and their children the precious gift of freedom. Among the first selections of the book you will find interesting stories and poems about animals and birds and growing things that will open your eyes to the beauty of the world about you.

One word more. In order to work enchantment people have to do certain things. Aladdin's wonderful lamp had to be rubbed. Now to use this book rightly, you must not think of it as a lesson book containing tasks. If you do that, it will be no Aladdin's lamp at all, but just a dull old smoky lamp that would not even guide you to the cellar. You should do these things: First, make yourself comfortable. Second, look at the Table of Contents and notice not only the titles, but also how they are organized and grouped under certain headings. In this book, stories, poems, and pictures are all arranged in a way to help make the charm work. Third, you will find Notes and Questions every now and then, and a Glossary, all of which serve as guide-posts to help you find your way. And last of all you must try to see the book, not as a scrapbook about all sorts of things, but as a whole-a choice collection, by representative authors, of stories and poems which will bring joy in reading and happy memories for the years to

come.