THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST.
: Old Testament StoriesNews of the miraculous way in which the Israelites had been brought
across the Jordan spread rapidly among the Canaanites, and when they
heard what God had done, they were very much afraid. We are told that
"their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more,
because of the children of Israel."
God had said to Joshua that the land of Canaan was to be taken
possession of by the Israelites; and h
and of a good courage," and had strengthened him by saying, "Be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest." Joshua and the people were now in Canaan,
and before them lay a stronghold of the Canaanites, named Jericho,
having high walls and strong gates. This city the Israelites had to
capture; but the inhabitants closed the gates, and prepared to fight
fiercely to prevent Joshua and his warriors from getting in.
As Joshua was alone at this time, near Jericho, he looked up, and saw
a man standing with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and
asked, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" The man answered,
"Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I come." Do you know
who it was? Was it an angel? I think it was more than an angel. It was
the Lord! Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, saying,
"What saith my Lord unto His servant?" Then the Lord told Joshua, as
before he had told Moses, to take his shoes from his feet, for the
place on which he stood was holy; and instructed him how Jericho was
to be captured.
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THE ANGRY BOBOLINK.
Pretty little bobolink In your satin coat, Trimmed with white across the neck Black about the throat, Why so angry do you seem? Why so fierce your mien? That you're scolding somebody Plainly can be seen. "Don't you know," says bobolink, As h... THE ANT EXPLORER
Once a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam-- To fare away far away, far away from home. He had eaten all his breakfast, and he had his ma's consent To see what he should chance to see and here's the way he went-- Up and down a fern frond, rou... THE ANT'S HOUSE.
"What a curious picture that is at the head of this story." That is what I think I hear some of the "Little Ones" say. "What does it mean?" some one asks. It looks like a procession of ants. That is just what it is. A procession of ants all marching... THE AXE-MAN
High on the hills, where the tall trees grow, There lives an axeman that I know. From his little hut by a ferny creek, Day after day, week after week, He goes each morn with his shining axe, Trudging along by the forest tracks; And he chops and h... THE BAKER
I'd like to be a baker, and come when morning breaks, Calling out, "Beeay-ko!" (that's the sound he makes)-- Riding in a rattle-cart that jogs and jolts and shakes, Selling all the sweetest things a baker ever bakes; Currant-buns and brandy-sna... THE BALL GAME.
Did you ever know a boy Make believe he had a toy? That's the way Babies play; Babies who are young and small Make believe they play at ball! ... THE BAND
Hey, there! Listen awhile! Listen awhile, and come. Down in the street there are marching feet, and I hear the beat of a drum. Bim! Boom!! Out of the room! Pick up your hat and fly! Isn't it grand? The band! The band! The band is marching by... THE BARBER
I'd like to be a barber, and learn to shave and clip, Calling out, "Next please!" and pocketing my tip. All day I'd hear my scissors going, "Snip, Snip, Snip;" I'd lather people's faces, and their noses I would grip While I shaved most carefully al... THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
In the morning, when Jesus had left Bethany and was coming towards Jerusalem, He was hungry. Seeing a fig-tree afar off, covered with leaves, He came to it, hoping to find some fruit on it. But the tree was a young one, and had not yet commenced t... THE BEARS' FEAST.
A man had come to town with two tame bears. They were very clever bears, and could climb posts and trees, dance and turn summersets and do a great many other tricks besides. One day the man was taken ill and had to stay in the house all day. He t... THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL
It was a pretty big surprise for Tommy Fox, when Mr. Grouse sprang out of the snow, right beneath his feet. But it was nothing at all, compared with the surprise Tommy had when he reached home. Very late at night Tommy stole into his mother's ho... THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS
Founded on fact. "Chickadee-dee-dee-dee! Chickadee-dee-dee-dee! Chicka--" "Cheerup, cheerup, chee-chee! Cheerup, cheerup, chee-chee!" "Ter-ra-lee, ter-ra-lee, ter-ra-lee!" "Rap-atap-atap-atap!" went the woodpecker; "Mrs. Chickadee may speak... THE BLACKBERRY-BUSH
A little boy sat at his mother's knees, by the long western window, looking out into the garden. It was autumn, and the wind was sad; and the golden elm leaves lay scattered about among the grass, and on the gravel path. The mother was knitting a ... THE BOX TUNNEL
The 10:15 train glided from Paddington May 7, 1847. In the left compartment of a certain first-class carriage were four passengers; of these two were worth description. The lady had a smooth, white, delicate brow, strongly marked eyebrow... THE BOY WHO CRIED "WOLF!"
There was once a shepherd-boy who kept his flock at a little distance from the village. Once he thought he would play a trick on the villagers and have some fun at their expense. So he ran toward the village crying out, with all his might,-- "W... THE BOY WHO RODE INTO THE SUNSET
Once upon a time--it was not so very long ago, either--a little boy, named Neville, lived with his people in a house which was almost in the country. That is to say, it was just at the edge of the city; and at the back of the house was a rather larg... THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND THE JACKAL
Do you know what a Brahmin is? A Brahmin is a very good and gentle kind of man who lives in India, and who treats all the beasts as if they were his brothers. There is a great deal more to know about Brahmins, but that is enough for the story. ... THE BRAVE HEBREW BOYS.
Brave boys and girls! We all wish to be brave, do we not? Then we must learn to say "No," when tempted to do wrong. These Hebrew boys were young nobles who had been carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; but though in a strange land, subject... THE BRAVE LITTLE BOWMAN
Once upon a time there was a little man with a crooked back who was called the wise little bowman because he used his bow and arrow so very well. This crooked little man said to himself: "If I go to the king and ask him to let me join his army, he... THE BRAZEN SERPENT.
Jesus Christ says that "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." What did Jesus mean? Nearly forty years had passed since God gave His law from Mount Sinai; and frequently the people had sinne... THE BROWN THRUSH
There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree. He's singing to me! He's singing to me! And what does he say, little girl, little boy? "Oh, the world's running over with joy! Don't you hear? Don't you see? Hush! Look! In my tree I'm ... THE BUCKWHEAT
Down by the river were fields of barley and rye and golden oats. Wheat grew there, too, and the heaviest and richest ears bent lowest, in humility. Opposite the corn was a field of buckwheat, but the buckwheat never bent; it held its head proud ... THE BUGLE SONG
Alfred Tennyson The splendor falls on castle walls And snowy summits old in story; The long light shakes across the lakes, And the wild cataract leaps in glory. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, Blow, bugle; a... THE BURNING OF THE RICEFIELDS
Once there was a good old man who lived up on a mountain, far away in Japan. All round his little house the mountain was flat, and the ground was rich; and there were the ricefields of all the people who lived in the village at the mountain's fo... THE BUSY BLUE JAY
Olive Thorne Miller One of the most interesting birds who ever lived in my Bird Room was a blue jay named Jakie. He was full of business from morning till night, scarcely ever a moment still. Poor little fellow! He had been stolen fro... THE CAKE
A child quarrelled with his brother one day about a cake. "It is my cake!" said the child. "No, it is mine!" said his brother. "You shall not have it!" said the child. "Give it to me this minute!" And he fell upon his brother and beat him... THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST.
News of the miraculous way in which the Israelites had been brought across the Jordan spread rapidly among the Canaanites, and when they heard what God had done, they were very much afraid. We are told that "their heart melted, neither was there s... THE CARRYING TRADE
Who wants to engage in the carrying trade? Come, Lottie and Lula and Nina and Mary, all bring your maps, and we will play merchants, and see what is meant by the carrying trade. Lottie shall have the bark "Rosette," and sail from Boston to Calcu... THE CASTLE OF FORTUNE
One lovely summer morning, just as the sun rose, two travellers started on a journey. They were both strong young men, but one was a lazy fellow and the other was a worker. As the first sunbeams came over the hills, they shone on a great castle ... The Cat and the Mouse
The cat and the mouse Played in the malt-house: The cat bit the mouse's tail off. "Pray, puss, give me my tail." "No," says the cat, "I'll not give you your tail, till you go to the cow and fetch me some milk." First she leapt, and t... THE CAT AND THE PARROT
Once there was a cat, and a parrot. And they had agreed to ask each other to dinner, turn and turn about: first the cat should ask the parrot, then the parrot should invite the cat, and so on. It was the cat's turn first. Now the cat was very me... THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS
Oliver Wendell Holmes This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign, Sails the unshadowed main,-- The venturous bark that flings On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings, And coral reefs lie b... THE CHARACTER OF A HAPPY LIFE
Sir Henry Wotton How happy is he born and taught, That serveth not another's will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth, his utmost skill; Whose passions not his masters are, Whose soul is still prepared for death, Unt... THE CHICKADEE-DEE.
Little darling of the snow, Careless how the winds may blow, Happy as a bird can be, Singing, oh, so cheerily, Chickadee-dee! Chickadee-dee! When the skies are cold and gray, When he trills his happiest lay, Through the clouds he seems to see ... THE CHILD-MIND; AND HOW TO SATISFY IT
"It is the grown people who make the nursery stories," wrote Stevenson, "all the children do is jealously to preserve the text." And the grown person, whether he makes his stories with pen or with tongue, should bring two qualities at least to the... THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN GOD.
No difficulty whatever was experienced in reaching that retreat, and milder prisoner never knew a guard than Ixtli proved himself to be, silently yielding to each impulse lent his arm by Waldo, smiling when, as sometimes happened, he was brought mor... THE CHILDREN'S PARTY.
What a merry, merry rout! See the wee ones dance about! Dickie's leading off the ball; There,--he almost had a fall. Who's his partner in the whirls, --Rosiest of all the girls? But a doll--a DOLL you say; Dancing in that sprightly way? Wel... THE CHRISTMAS CAROL OF THE BIRDS.
Do you know, when we are having such good times at Christmas, what sweet music they have in Norway, that cold country across the sea? One day in the year the simple peasants who live there make the birds very happy, so that they sing, of their own... THE CHRISTMAS MASQUERADE
On Christmas Eve the Mayor's stately mansion presented a beautiful appearance. There were rows of different coloured wax candles burning in every window, and beyond them one could see the chandeliers of gold and crystal blazing with light. The f... THE CIRCUS
Hey, there! Hoop-la! the circus is in town! Have you seen the elephant? Have you seen the clown? Have you seen the dappled horse gallop round the ring? Have you seen the acrobats on the dizzy swing? Have you seen the tumbling men tumble up and do... THE CITIES OF REFUGE.
Revenge is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him," says the Saviour; but among the Israelites and other eastern nations a different practice prevailed. If one slew another, the kinsman of him that was slain fel... THE CITY MOUSE AND THE GARDEN MOUSE
The city mouse lives in a house;-- The garden mouse lives in a bower, He's friendly with the frogs and toads, And sees the pretty plants in flower. The city mouse eats bread and cheese;-- The garden mouse eats what he can; We will not gru... THE CLOUD
One hot summer morning a little Cloud rose out of the sea and floated lightly and happily across the blue sky. Far below lay the earth, brown, dry, and desolate, from drought. The little Cloud could see the poor people of the earth working and suf... THE COCK-A-DOO-DLE-DOO
A very little boy made this story up "out of his head," and told it to his papa. I think you littlest ones will like it; I do. Once upon a time there was a little boy, and he wanted to be a cock-a-doo-dle-doo. So he was a cock-a-doo-dle-doo. And... THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE
Once a little mouse who lived in the country invited a little mouse from the city to visit him. When the little City Mouse sat down to dinner he was surprised to find that the Country Mouse had nothing to eat except barley and grain. "Really," ... THE CRATCHITS' CHRISTMAS DINNER
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present stood in the city streets on Christmas morning, where (for the weather was severe) the people made a rough but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music, in scraping the snow from the pavement in front of th... THE CUNNING WOLF
Once upon a time the people in a certain town went out into the woods for a holiday. They took baskets full of good things to eat. But when noontime came they ate all the meat they had brought with them, not leaving any for supper. "I will get ... THE DAGDA'S HARP
You know, dears, in the old countries there are many fine stories about things which happened so very long ago that nobody knows exactly how much of them is true. Ireland is like that. It is so old that even as long ago as four thousand years it h... THE DAWN DANCE
What do you think I saw to-day when I arose at dawn? Blue Wrens and Yellow-tails dancing on the lawn! Bobbing here, and bowing there, gossiping away, And how I wished that you were there to see the merry play! But you were snug abed, my boy, blan... THE DEATH OF SAMSON.
Samson's birth was foretold by an angel. He was to grow up a Nazarite, forbidden to drink strong drink, neither was his head to be shaved. His strength was very great; but his marriage was sinful, and his doings with the idolatrous Philistines ter... THE DEFEAT OF THE MIDIANITES.
Large numbers of the Israelites gathered around Gideon, prepared to fight against the Midianites, who were encamped in a valley, "like grasshoppers for multitude." How Gideon's host was reduced till only three hundred men remained, and the wonderf... THE DIAMOND AND THE DEWDROP
A costly Diamond, that had once sparkled in a lady's ring, lay in a field amid tall grasses and oxeye daisies. Just above it, was a big Dewdrop that clung timidly to a nodding grass-blade. Overhead, the blazing sun shone in all his noonday gl...