A Modest ProposalA Modest Proposal(for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from beinga burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficialto the publick.)by Dr. Jonathan Swift. 17291- Page 2-A Modest ProposalIt is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town,or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabbin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or...　

THE DEVOTED FRIENDOne morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He hadbright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like along bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimmingabout in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, andtheir mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying toteach them how to stand on their heads in the water."You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on yourheads," she kept saying to them; and every now and then she showedthem how it was done. But the little ducks paid no attention toher. They were so young that they did not know what an advantage...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENLITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUSby Hans Christian AndersenIN a village there once lived two men who had the same name.They were both called Claus. One of them had four horses, but theother had only one; so to distinguish them, people called the owner ofthe four horses, "Great Claus," and he who had only one, "LittleClaus." Now we shall hear what happened to them, for this is a truestory.Through the whole week, Little Claus was obliged to plough forGreat Claus, and lend him his one horse; and once a week, on a Sunday,Great Claus lent him all his four horses. Then how Little Claus...　

BROWN OF CALAVERASA subdued tone of conversation, and the absence of cigar smoke andboot heels at the windows of the Wingdam stagecoach, made itevident that one of the inside passengers was a woman. Adisposition on the part of loungers at the stations to congregatebefore the window, and some concern in regard to the appearance ofcoats, hats, and collars, further indicated that she was lovely.All of which Mr. Jack Hamlin, on the box seat, noted with the smileof cynical philosophy. Not that he depreciated the sex, but thathe recognized therein a deceitful element, the pursuit of whichsometimes drew mankind away from the equally uncertain...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE BOTTLE NECKby Hans Christian AndersenCLOSE to the corner of a street, among other abodes of poverty,stood an exceedingly tall, narrow house, which had been so knockedabout by time that it seemed out of joint in every direction. Thishouse was inhabited by poor people, but the deepest poverty wasapparent in the garret lodging in the gable. In front of the littlewindow, an old bent bird-cage hung in the sunshine, which had not evena proper water-glass, but instead of it the broken neck of a bottle,turned upside down, and a cork stuck in to make it hold the water with...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE METAL PIGby Hans Christian AndersenIN the city of Florence, not far from the Piazza del Granduca,runs a little street called Porta Rosa. In this street, just infront of the market-place where vegetables are sold, stands a pig,made of brass and curiously formed. The bright color has beenchanged by age to dark green; but clear, fresh water pours from thesnout, which shines as if it had been polished, and so indeed ithas, for hundreds of poor people and children seize it in theirhands as they place their mouths close to the mouth of the animal,...　

BOOK II: OF THEIR MILITARY DISCIPLINETHEY detest war as a very brutal thing; and which, to the reproachof human nature, is more practised by men than by any sort ofbeasts. They, in opposition to the sentiments of almost all othernations, think that there is nothing more inglorious than thatglory that is gained by war. And therefore though they accustomthemselves daily to military exercises and the discipline of warin which not only their men but their women likewise are trainedup, that in cases of necessity they may not be quite uselessyetthey do not rashly engage in war, unless it be either to defend...　

Part the Second.THE MARCH OF TIME.V.ADVANCING from time past to time present, the Prologue leaves thedate last attained (the summer of eighteen hundred andfifty-five), and travels on through an interval of twelveyearstells who lived, who died, who prospered, and who failedamong the persons concerned in the tragedy at the Hampsteadvillaand, this done, leaves the reader at the opening of THESTORY in the spring of eighteen hundred and sixty-eight.The record begins with a marriagethe marriage of Mr. Vanboroughand Lady Jane Parnell.In three months from the memorable day when his solicitor had...　

The Enchanted BluffWe had our swim before sundown, and while we were cooking oursupper the oblique rays of light made a dazzling glare on the whitesand about us. The translucent red ball itself sank behind thebrown stretches of cornfield as we sat down to eat, and the warmlayer of air that had rested over the water and our clean sand bargrew fresher and smelled of the rank ironweed and sunflowersgrowing on the flatter shore. The river was brown and sluggish,like any other of the half-dozen streams that water the Nebraskacorn lands. On one shore was an irregular line of bald clay bluffswhere a few scrub oaks with thick trunks and flat, twisted tops...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENOLE-LUK-OIE, THE DREAM-GODby Hans Christian AndersenTHERE is nobody in the world who knows so many stories asOle-Luk-Oie, or who can relate them so nicely. In the evening, whilethe children are seated at the table or in their little chairs, hecomes up the stairs very softly, for he walks in his socks, then heopens the doors without the slightest noise, and throws a smallquantity of very fine dust in their eyes, just enough to preventthem from keeping them open, and so they do not see him. Then hecreeps behind them, and blows softly upon their necks, till their...　

THE STORY OF BIG KLAUS AND LITTLE KLAUSIn a certain village there lived two people who had both the samename. Both were called Klaus, but one owned four horses and theother only one. In order to distinguish the one from the other,the one who had four horses was called Big Klaus, and the one whohad only one horse, Little Klaus. Now you shall hear what befellthem both, for this is a true story.The whole week through Little Klaus had to plough for Big Klaus,and lend him his one horse; then Big Klaus lent him his fourhorses, but only once a week, and that was on Sunday. Hurrah!how loudly Little Klaus cracked his whip over all the five...　

A TALE OF THE TONTLAWALDLong, long ago there stood in the midst of a country covered withlakes a vast stretch of moorland called the Tontlawald, on whichno man ever dared set foot. From time to time a few bold spiritshad been drawn by curiosity to its borders, and on their returnhad reported that they had caught a glimpse of a ruined house ina grove of thick trees, and round about it were a crowd of beingsresembling men, swarming over the grass like bees. The men wereas dirty and ragged as gipsies, and there were besides a quantityof old women and half-naked children.One night a peasant who was returning home from a feast wandereda little farther into the Tontlawald, and came back with th