Look, Frank! What bird is that?
That is a bat, Max.
It can fly, Frank.
Yes, a bat can fly.
It can fly like a bird.
A bat can fly as high as a bird, too.
There it goes. Up, up, it goes.
Up U up u
Can you catch the bat, Frank?
Yes, I will catch it with my hat.
Here it is. I caught it with my hat.
It looks like a rat, Frank.
No, it looks like a mouse, Max.
We will show the bat to Father.
Then we will let it fly away again.

Did you see Frank run after the bat?
I saw him catch it.
The bat was flying when he caught it.
Frank caught the bat under his hat.
He ran after it and said,
“Bat, bat,
Come under my hat.
And when I bake,
I will give you a cake.”

We will run up on the hay.
Then we will jump down again.
Alice, we will pull you up on the hay.
Thank you. Now I will jump down.
Jump down. Jump this way, Grace.
It is your time to jump again, Alice.
Max, look over your head.
What is that? What is that, Frank?
Look out, Max! Run, run, Max!
Do you know what made Max run?
An owl came out of the barn.
It flew down at Max and made him run.
It flew at his head.
Max did not know what it was.
He said, “What is that?”
Then he ran down on the hay.
Frank said, “Look out, Max. Run!”
The owl flew back up on the hay.
Then Frank ran up on the hay.
He caught the owl under his hat.
That was the way he caught the bat.
Grace said, “Let me see the owl, Frank.
Do you know what an owl looks like?
Yes, it looks like a cat.”
Frank said, “Come back, Max.
It is an owl. Come and see it.”
Max went back to look at the owl.
He said, “How that owl made me run!
He does look like a cat, Grace.
I know a rime about an owl.
It is about an owl making a boy run.
It is not about me and this owl.
It is about another owl and another boy.
I will say the rime for you.”
“A little boy went into a barn
And lay down on some hay;
An owl came out and flew about
And the little boy ran away.”
Max ax x

What are you doing, Baby?
Are you watching the kitty cat?
Dot is watching a little fly.
Can you catch the fly, Dot?
Look at little black Mink, sleeping.
Mink will not catch the fly.
Mink is not quick. Dot, be quick.
Run to the window, Dot.
Catch the fly when it comes.
Catch it, Mink! Catch it, Dot!
Catch it, Baby!

M. S. Willis.

With animation.

Musical notation

[[Listen]

1. Ba-by-bye, Here’s a fly. We will watch him, You and I.

PHONIC JINGLES

Phonic Drill
2. My, my, my! my
He is shy. shy
That is why why
He will fly. fly
3. He is sly. sly
You he’ll spy. spy
He is spry. spry
Catch him! Try! try
4. See him fly fly
Toward the sky. sky
Say, “Good-by, by
Little fly!” fly

Come to the window again, Baby.
Look out through the window.
Watch the little chickadee on the ground.
Stop, little bird! Come to the window.
Baby, did you see how he shook his tail?
He shook it and shook it and flew away.
I saw a little bird
Come, hop, hop, hop.
So I said, “Little bird,
Will you stop, stop, stop?”
And was going to the window
To say, “How do you do?”
But he shook his little tail
And then away he flew.
  • hop
  • top
  • stop
  • pop
  • mop
  • chop
  • shop
  • drop

Baby, Frank caught an owl.
We have a little bat, too, Baby.
The owl was in the barn.
It made Max run. It flew at his head.
It was funny to see Max run.
Frank will show you the owl.
Frank, where are the owl and the bat?
Please show them to Mother and Baby.
Mother, look at the owl.
Look at this bat. It is a little one.
We will show them to Father.
He knows where there is an owl’s nest.
It makes a bed in a hole in a tree.
Baby, look at the little bat.
It looks like a mouse.
Bun has some rabbit cousins.
We saw one as we came home.
The one we saw lives in the woods.
It lives in a hole in the ground.
The little rabbit went hop, hop, hop.
It has a funny, little, white tail.
It did not look much like Bun.
We saw Mother Jet and her children.
We saw all of the other ducks.
Ducky Bet was with the other ducks.
Mother Jet said, “Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Come back, Baby duck, duck, duck!”
  • duck
  • luck
  • cluck
  • puck
  • shuck
  • struck
  • buck
  • tuck

It is so pretty to-day.
Let us go out and swing Baby.
Grace, you may swing with Baby.
Come, Frank. Let us swing them.
Pull, Frank. Pull the swing back.
Now let it go again, Frank.
You may run under the swing, Max.
Don’t you hear the birds singing?
They say, “Sweet! Sweet! Sweet!”
Look up over your head at the birds.
Sing, Baby! Sing, Alice! Sing, boys!

M. S. Willis.

Musical notation

[[Listen]

1. Ba-by, swing, Dear lit-tle thing! Hap-py as a king.

PHONIC JINGLES

Phonic Drill
1. Baby, swing, swing
Dear little thing! thing
Happy as a king. king
2. Birdies, sing. sing
Sing on the wing. wing
Sweetest music bring. bring
3. It is spring. spring
Flower bells, ring. ring
Wide your fragrance fling. fling
4. “Spring, sweet spring!” spring
The children sing, sing
“It is lovely spring.” spring

Father, we caught a bat and an owl.
We caught them as we came home.
Grace says the owl looks like a cat.
The owl does look much like a cat.
Max says the bat looks like a rat.
I say it looks like a mouse.
Which does it look like, Father?
It looks very much like a mouse.
It looks like a rat too, Frank.
Father, tell about the owl and the bat.
Tell about Mr. Owl and Mrs. Bat.

An owl said to a bat,
“Do you know the rat, Mrs. Bat?”
“No, I do not, Mr. Owl,” said the bat.
“Well, you look very much like the rat, Mrs. Bat.”
“Can the rat fly, Mr. Owl?”
“Oh no, a rat can not fly, Mrs. Bat.”
“But, you see, Mr. Owl, I can fly.”
“Do you know the cat, Mr. Owl?” said the bat.
“No, I do not, Mrs. Bat,” said the owl.
“Well, you look very much like the cat, Mr. Owl.”
“Can the cat fly, Mrs. Bat?”
“Oh no, a cat can not fly, Mr. Owl.”
“But you see, Mrs. Bat, I can fly.”

Said the owl to the bat,
“What is that?”
“That’s the cat,” said the bat.
Said the owl to the bat,
“Do I look like that cat?”
“You do,” said the bat.
“Mr. Owl,” said the bat,
“What is that?”
“That’s the rat, Mrs. Bat.”
“Mr. Owl,” said the bat,
“Do I look like that rat?”
“You do, Mrs. Bat.”

Max, we are going to the orchard.
I know you will like the orchard.
The apple trees are so pretty.
They have flowers now.
The flowers are so sweet, too.
All the birds like the orchard.
I saw a nest there one day.
There were some little eggs in it.
Was it a chickadee’s nest, Alice?
No, it was not a chickadee’s nest.
I saw the bird fly to the nest.
I did not know what bird it was.
Here is the orchard, Max.
Let us get some flowers.
The apple trees have pretty flowers.
The apple flowers are red and white.

Oh, how pretty the apple trees are!
Look at the bees on the flowers.
Do you know what the bees say?
Down in the flower,
Hear me, the bee,
Going, “Zee, zee, z-ee!”
Out of the flower,
I come. Hear me hum,
Going, “Zum, zum, z-um!”
Zee Z zee z

The pigs like to come to the orchard.
They like the orchard as much as we do.
They come when there are apples here.
We saw all the pigs here one day.
We made a rime about Piggie Wee.
Tell about Piggie Wee and the bee.
You know how greedy Piggie Wee is.
One day he was in the orchard.
He saw an apple on the ground.
But there was a bee on the apple.
So the greedy pig ran after the bee.
Then the bee flew at Piggie Wee.
The bee made Piggie Wee run.
It flew after him and said, “Zee, zee!”
Piggie ran and said, “Wee, wee, wee!”

PHONIC JINGLES

Phonic Drill
1. Piggie-Wee
Saw a bee.
“See! See! See!
Here’s a bee bee
Under the tree. tree
I’ll get that bee,” bee
Said Piggie-Wee. Wee
2. Then the bee bee
Said in glee, glee
“Zee! Zee! Zee! Zee
Piggie-Wee!” Wee
This made him flee, flee
And, “Wee! Wee! Wee!” Wee
Cried Piggie-Wee. Wee

M. S. Willis.

Musical notation

[[Listen]

1. Pig-gie-wee Saw a bee. “See! See! See! Here’s a
bee Un-der the tree.” “I’ll get that bee,” said Pig-gie-wee.

We will go to the meadow to-day.
We will drive the cows to the meadow.
They all like to go there.
The sheep like the meadow, too.
They will be in the meadow to-day.
The meadow clover has its flowers.
I like to see the clover blooms.
They are sweet, red clover balls.
The bees are in the meadow all day.
They hum over the clover.
They like the sweet clover blooms.
Some of the clover blooms are white.
Some of them are as red as red can be.
I like to see the bees on the clover.
Let us run to the meadow.

Hear the bees hum, Max.
They go “Zum, zum,” as they hum.
Get down on the ground to see them.
Yes, I see them, Alice.
But I like to watch the lambs.
Watch that little lamb run and play.
Yes, that is my lamb, Max.
The other lamb is Frank’s.
Look at Bossy. Bossy is Grace’s cow.
Bossy has a little bell. Do you see it?
I like to hear Bossy’s bell.
It is time to drive the cows home.
Boys, please find the cows.
I don’t see Bossy. But I hear her bell.
Don’t you hear Bossy’s bell?
Yes, I hear it, Grace.
Bossy’s bell goes “Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!”
I like to hear Bossy’s little bell.
We will go over the hill to the brook.
Bossy knows where to find water.
She knows where to find the big trees.
There! I see Bossy in the brook.
Let me drive her out, Frank.
I will go into the brook.
Very well, Max. Drive her out.
Knows Kn knows kn

M. S. Willis.

Musical notation

[[Listen]

1. Tin-kle, tin-kle, tin-kle, Bos-sy’s lit-tle bell.
Tin-kle, tin-kle, tin-kle, Bos-sy likes it well.

PHONIC JINGLES

Phonic Drill
1. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!
Bossy’s little bell. bell
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!
Bossy likes it well. well
2. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!
Where she is ’twill tell. tell
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the shady dell. dell
3. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
Where the green grass grows, grows
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
Where sweet water flows, flows
4. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
Where the soft wind blows, blows
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
All this Bossy knows. knows

Play “Two Little Black Birds,” Baby.
I will show you the birds.
Here are two black birds on a hill.
One is Jack. The other is Jill.
The two black birds will fly away.
Then they will come again.
Two little black birds
Sat upon a hill.
One was Jack.
The other was Jill.
Fly away, Jack!
Fly away, Jill!
Come back, Jack!
Come back, Jill!
  • Jack
  • back
  • quack
  • black
  • pack
  • lack
  • rack
  • track
  • crack
  • tack
  • stack
  • knack

Let us play “Hickory, dickory, dock.”
O Alice, Baby can not run!
Can she play that she is the mouse?
No, but she can watch us run.
Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one.
The mouse ran down.
Hickory, dickory, dock!
  • dock
  • lock
  • clock
  • flock
  • block
  • rock
  • cock
  • shock
  • stock
  • knock
  • mock
  • sock

Watch us play “Pease-pudding.”
When is the pease-pudding in the pot?
When is it hot? When is it cold?
When is the pease-pudding old?
Max and I keep time like a clock.
Pease-pudding hot,
Pease-pudding cold,
Pease-pudding in the pot,
Nine days old.
Some like it hot.
Some like it cold.
Some like it in the pot,
Nine days old.
  • cold
  • told
  • hold
  • gold
  • fold
  • bold
  • sold
  • mold

We will play “Jack and Jill” now.
Alice will be Jill. Max will be Jack.
Jack fell down on his head.
Jill came tumbling after.
Max, come tumbling to the ground.
Then Alice must come tumbling after.
Oh you did it very well. Now sing.
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To get a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
  • Jill
  • hill
  • mill
  • fill
  • still
  • quill
  • sill
  • rill

The children are playing “Jack and Jill.”
Alice says, “I must have a pail, Grace.”
Grace says, “Frank will get a pail.
Thank you. Here is the pail, Alice.
Mother says she will sing with us.”
“Thank you, Mother. Thank you.”
Jack, come tumbling down.
Now, Jill, you must come tumbling down.
Frank says, “Sing some other song.
Let us sing about the cunning mouse.
Mink is black all over. Baby loves her.
Do you love Mink very much, Baby?
Well, we will sing a song, Baby.
We will sing about your kitty.”
Thank Th thank th

“I’LL SING A SONG”

Ding-dong, ding-dong!
I’ll sing you a song.
It’s not very long.
It’s about a little mouse.
He looked very cunning
As I saw him running
About my father’s house.
Ding-dong, ding-dong!
I’ll sing you a song.
It’s not very long.
It’s about a little kitty.
She is black all over,
And I know you’ll love her,
For she is very pretty.
  • dong
  • song
  • long
  • strong
  • wrong
  • prong

M. S. Willis.

With animation.

Musical notation

[[Listen]

1. We’ve a lit-tle kit-ty, Just as black as ink;
She is ver-y pret-ty, And her name is Mink.

PHONIC JINGLES

Phonic Drill
1. We’ve a little kitty
Just as black as ink. ink
She is very pretty,
And her name is Mink. Mink
2. She’s a silly kitty,
See her sit and blink! blink
Isn’t it a pity
She knows how to wink? wink
3. She’s a lazy kitty
Till there’s milk to drink. drink
Then she is so busy
She’s no time to think. think

Jack, be nimble! Jack, be quick!
Jack, jump over the candlestick!
Don’t kick the candle over, Max.
The clock has struck bedtime.
Good night, children.
  • quick
  • chick
  • kick
  • brick
  • tick
  • stick
  • wick
  • lick

A SONG

Merry have we met
And merry have we been.
Merry let us part
And merry meet again.
With a merry ding-dong
Happy, gay, and free,
With a merry sing-song,
Again we’ll happy be.

SONG OF THE LETTERS

Musical notation

[[Listen]

a b c d e f g h i j k
A B C D E F G H I J K
l m n o p l m n o p q
L M N O P L M N O P Q
r s t l m n o p q
R S T L M N O P Q
r s t u v w x y z
R S T U V W X Y Z
That’s the way to say your A B C.