wanted to forget. Bessie put in her hurt feelings, when Alice forgot to come for her on the way to Mabel's party. Donald put in his anger, when Ben let go of the kite string and it sailed away never to come back. Robert put in his disappointment when papa wanted him to work in the garden instead of going fishing.

—Written for Dew Drops by Willametta Preston.

A SOFT ANSWER.

"Oh, Emma, where are you going?" asked Kitty, as she ran after her sister.

"I'm not going to tell you where I'm going; so there!" replied Emma.

"You're just the hatefulest girl I ever saw," said Kitty, beginning to cry.

These two little girls did not remember the verse their teacher had given them the Sunday before. It was this: "A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger." Emma's rough answer stirred up an angry feeling in Kitty's heart. They were grievous words and brought a reply of the same kind. How much better it is to help each other to do right and to be gentle.

Miss Maggie had heard what the girls said, for she was just coming into the house. She had a rose in her hand, and just as Emma ran away, leaving Kitty in tears, she held out the rose, saying to Kitty:

"Smell it, dear; is it not beautiful?"

The sweet words and the beautiful flower calmed Kitty's angry heart. Miss Maggie told her to keep the rose, and when Emma came home, instead of finding a cross little sister she found Kitty very happy.

"Come see my rose," said Kitty. Emma smelled it and said, "Oh! How sweet it is!" and they forgot their unkind feelings.

What power there is in a gentle word. Kind actions, too, are opposed to anger; the good will drive out the bad.

"Do your duty as if you enjoyed it."

—Selected.

Why should soldiers be rather tired on the first of April?

Because they have just had a march of thirty-one days.

Strange Little Duckbill.

If you lived in Australia, you would hear the natives call the little duckbill by three different names—Tambreet, or Tohunbuck, or Mallangong. Are they not queer-sounding names?

But the little duckbill is a queer animal, too. Its mouth looks like a duck's bill. Some people name it the Water Mole, because its fur looks like the mole's coat, and because it is fond of the water.

When dogs first see Master Duckbill, they watch him waddle along in his funny, awkward way and bark at him, but they will not touch him. When cats first see this queer creature, they scamper quickly out of sight.

Master Duckbill is a skillful burrower and makes long tunnels in the earth with his strong claws. His round body is thickly covered, first, with woolly fur and then with long hairs. A leathery hanging protects his round eyes from the earth in which he burrows.

Being fond of the water, he always builds near a stream—usually by some quiet pond or the still, wide part of a river. He makes two doorways. One he reaches by land; the other, by diving into the water. The land door is always carefully hidden under weeds or bending plants, so that no stranger can find it. Yet, often you can see the footprints of this little worker in the wet soil.

To look at Master Duckbill, you would not think he is so active: and he is so strong that you could not hold him in your hands. He is a wonderful climber; so that, if you had him in your house, you would soon see him running up your bookshelves or clambering along some other piece of furniture. He would put his back against the wall, his feet against the bookcase, and thus he would travel upward to the top. Sometimes boys try to climb up a barn that way.

When Master Duckbill is swimming, he looks like the bunches of weeds floating in the water.