Tag Archives: Fourth Grade

The Sandpiper – Fourth Grade McGuffey’s Reader

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Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) ©WikiC

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) ©WikiC

McGuffey Readers were a series of graded primers for grade levels 1-6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and are still used today in some private schools and in homeschooling.

Here is a story of The Eagle from the Fourth Grade Reader. (From Gutenberg) Pictures are current photos.

Fourth Grade McGuffey Reader

XLIX. THE SANDPIPER. 
By CELIA THAXTER.

1. Across the lonely beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I,
And fast I gather, bit by bit,
The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry.
The wild waves reach their hands for it,
The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,
As up and down the beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I.

Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) by Ian

2. Above our heads the sullen clouds
Scud, black and swift, across the sky;
Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds
Stand out the white lighthouses high.
Almost as far as eye can reach
I see the close-reefed vessels fly,
As fast we flit across the beach,
One little sandpiper and I.

Least Sandpiper at Fort DeSoto by Lee

Least Sandpiper at Fort DeSoto by Lee

3. I watch him as he skims along,
Uttering his sweet and mournful cry;
He starts not at my fitful song,
Nor flash of fluttering drapery.
He has no thought of any wrong,
He scans me with a fearless eye;
Stanch friends are we, well-tried and strong,
The little sandpiper and I.

Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) ©USFWS

4. Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night,
When the loosed storm breaks furiously?
My driftwood fire will burn so bright!
To what warm shelter canst thou fly?
I do not fear for thee, though wroth
The tempest rushes through the sky;
For are we not God’s children both,
Thou, little sandpiper, and I?

DEFINITIONS.—l. Sand’pi-per, a bird of the snipe family, found along the seacoast. Drift’wood. wood tossed on shore by the waves. Bleached, whitened. Tide, the regular rise and fall of the ocean which occurs twice in a little over twenty-four hours. 2. Scud, fly hastily. Shrouds, Winding sheets, dresses of the dead. Close’reefed, with sails contracted as much as possible. 3. Fit’ful, irregularly variable. Draper-y, garments. Scans, looks at care-fully. Stanch, firm. 4. Wroth, angry.

“I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.” (Psalms 55:8 NKJV)

“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14 NKJV)

Title: McGuffey’s Fourth Eclectic Reader, Author: William Holmes McGuffey
Release Date: February 2, 2005 [EBook #14880], Language: English

McGuffey’s Fourth Grade Reader 

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Fourth Grade McGuffey’s Reader – The Eagle

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Fourth Grade McGuffey Reader

“Does the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high?” (Job 39:27 NKJV)

McGuffey Readers were a series of graded primers for grade levels 1-6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and are still used today in some private schools and in homeschooling.

Here is a story of The Eagle from the Fourth Grade Reader. (From Gutenberg) Pictures are current photos.

Bald Eagle (close up) LP Zoo by Lee

Bald Eagle (close up) LP Zoo by Lee

XXIX. THE EAGLE. (84)

1. The eagle seems to enjoy a kind of supremacy over the rest of the inhabitants of the air. Such is the loftiness of his flight, that he often soars in the sky beyond the reach of the naked eye, and such is his strength that he has been known to carry away children in his talons. But many of the noble qualities imputed to him are rather fanciful than true.

2. He has been described as showing a lofty independence, which makes him disdain to feed on anything that is not slain by his own strength. But Alexander Wilson, the great naturalist, says that he has seen an eagle feasting on the carcass of a horse. The eagle lives to a great age. One at Vienna is stated to have died after a confinement of one hundred and four years.

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) Flying ©WikiC

3. There are several species of the eagle. The golden eagle, which is one of the largest, is nearly four feet from the point of the beak to the end of the tail. He is found in most parts of Europe, and is also met with in America. High rocks and ruined and lonely towers are the places which he chooses for his abode. His nest is composed of sticks and rushes. The tail feathers are highly valued as ornaments by the American Indians.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by AestheticPhotos

4. The most interesting species is the bald eagle, as this is an American bird, and the adopted emblem of our country. He lives chiefly upon fish, and is found in the neighborhood of the sea, and along the shores and cliffs of our large lakes and rivers.

5. According to the description given by Wilson, he depends, in procuring his food, chiefly upon the labors of others. He watches the fish hawk as he dives into the sea for his prey, and darting down upon him as he rises, forces him to relinquish his victim, and then seizes it before it again reaches the water.

Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) by Lee at Zoo Miami 2014

Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) by Lee at Zoo Miami 2014

6. One of the most notable species is the harpy eagle. This is said to be bold and strong, and to attack beasts, and even man himself. He is fierce, quarrelsome, and sullen, living alone in the deepest forests. He is found chiefly in South America.

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Title: McGuffey’s Fourth Eclectic Reader, Author: William Holmes McGuffey
Release Date: February 2, 2005 [EBook #14880], Language: English

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