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And God created great whales, and every liv'ing crea'ture that moveth in the waters, after their kind and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multi-ply, and fill the waters and the seas.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind: and it was so.

And God said, Let us make man in our own im'age, after our like'ness; and let them have domin'ion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creep'ing thing that creep'eth upon the earth. So God created man in his own im'age; male and fe'male created he them. And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and re-plen'ish the earth, and sub-due' it, and have do-min'ion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creep'eth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

QUESTIONS.

By whom was the world created? In what state was the earth immediately after its creation? What are the two great lights that rule the day and the night? What did God say about the waters? What did he call the dry land? And what the gathering together of the waters? What did he bid the earth do? What did God say when about to create man? In whose image was man created? What did God give to man for food? And what did he give to other creatures?

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Who showed the little ant the way
Her narrow hole to bore?
And spend the pleasant summer day
In laying up her store?

The sparrow builds her pretty nest,
Of wool, and hay, and moss;
Who told her how to weave it best,
And lay the twigs a-cross'?

Who taught the busy bee to fly
Among the sweetest flowers,
And lay his store of hon'ey by,

To eat in winter hours?

"Twas God who showed them all the way,

And gave their little skill,

And teaches children, if they pray,

To do his holy will.

THE SPARROW.

The window was open, and I saw a sparrow fly in; but none of the children did it any harm, for good boys and girls are never cruel, and would not give pain without cause, even to the smallest in sect. The sparrow flew about for a while in great terror; its heart was throbbing with fear, and its eye glanced very wildly. A cat looked as if it had been just going to spring at it; and had not puss been chased away, the bird would have been dead in a moment. At last the sparrow made its e-scape'; and quickly mount'ed to the top of the house, where it shook its feathers, and chirped very loud, and seemed to be glad that it had got its freedom again. What would have become of its young ones, if it had been killed? They could not have failed to perish for want. Sparrows do a great deal of harm to thatched houses, in which they niake holes for building their nests. They also de-stroy the corn when it is getting ripe; and you can scarcely con-ceive' how much a flock of them will de-vour'. When they thus do so much mischief, it is lawful to kill them. But when they are harmless, we have no right to give them pain, or de-prive' them of life; and, for my part, it always gives me pleasure to see how lively and cheerful they are, and to hear what a merry chirping noise they make, when numbers of them assemble together on a hedge, a tree, or a house-top.

QUESTIONS

What is the character of good boys and girls? What did the sparrow do when in the house? How do sparrows injure thatched houses? What harm is done to corn fields by sparrows? Is it lawful to kill these birds when they do hurt in this way? Have we any right to kill them when they are harmless? When should the sight of such creatures give us pleasure?

THE BEE HIVE.

A hive contains three kinds of bees; these are, the working bees, the queen bee, and the drones. I need not de-scribe' the working bees, as almost every one must have seen them often. They make the wax, and form it into combs. They also gath'er the honey, and put it into the cells, which they then seal up. And they de-fend' the hive from mice, snails, wasps, and the bees of other hives, that try to rob them of their stores. The drones may be known from the working tribe, by their clumsy body, their round head, their short tongue, their flat belly, their dark colour, their want of a sting, and their loud buzzing noise when flying. At the end of the season the common bees ban'ish them from the hive; being thus driven out, they be-take' themselves to the outer edges of the hive, where they cluster together, and die of cold and hunger; or if they attempt to return to the inside, they are either again thrust out, or stung to death. The queen bee is also larger and longer than the working bees. Her belly and legs are of a brighter yellow than theirs, but the upper parts are darker

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and she ta'pers more towards the tail. Her wings do not cov'er half her body, where-as' the wings of the drones and working bees cover their bodies wholly. The queen has great respect paid to her by the rest of the bees. A number of them attend her as she moves from one part of the hive to another. They will not swarm unless she march out at their head. And if she happen to die, they grow quite dull, will no longer work, and soon become ex-tinct', unless a new queen is got, and put in among them. Bee hives are very often made of straw; and in that case they are of a round shape. But they are also sometimes made of wood, and in that case they are square. Some people have them not only formed of wood, but with glass windows at all the sides except the iront, that they may look in, and see them working, and observe the manner in which they pro-ceed'. And truly it may both a-muse' and instruct any one to see what order these little creatures preserve, how busy, as well as skilful they are in making wax and honey, and how well they pro-vide' du'ring summer what is needful for their support in winter. They are taught to do all this by the same God who made men and angels; and in them we may perceive his wisdom, as well as in the highest and noblest creatures to whom he has given being.

How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shi'ning hour,

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