the ospray, and the vulture, and the kite after its kind." These are all birds of prey, that is, they live by destroying other animals, and some of them are very fierce and cruel; I suppose this is one reason why they were not to be eaten.

The kite is a large bird, more than two feet long; and when its wings are spread it would take a string five feet and a half long to stretch from the tip of one across to the other. It does not fly very rapidly, but its motion in the air is very graceful and beautiful. On this account it has sometimes been called the Gled, or the gliding bird.

The kite is very much dreaded and disliked by those who have ducks and chickens, because it carries them off for food. It also eats frogs and moles: it is said that more than twenty of the latter have been found in one Kite's nest. It is a cowardly bird, and does not attack any animal that is strong enough to defend itself. Its nest is usually built between the forked branches of some tall tree in the thickest part of the forest; and if you could look into one of them in the spring, you would probably see three eggs, almost white, but a little tinged with blue.

THE LION.

You have seen pictures of the lion a hundred times, I suppose, and perhaps you have seen it alive; would you not like to know what the Bible says about it? You have heard it called the "king of beasts," because it is so strong and so bold; it is afraid of no other animal, and it is strong enough to carry away a horse or a buffalo. In the 30th verse of the 30th chapter of Proverbs, we read about "the lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any." When king David was mourning for the death of Saul and Jonathan, he said, "They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions." How strong Samson must have been to take hold of a young lion and tear it in pieces with his hands! Did you ever read a riddle in one of the chapters of Judges? This is it, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness ;" and it was made by Samson after he had found the honey in the skeleton of the lion,-as I told you when speaking of the bee. He promised some of his

friends that he would give them thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment, if they would find it out in seven days; but they would not have been able to do it, if Samson's wife had not told them what he meant. Then they came to him and said, "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion ?"

The boldness of the lion is noticed in a verse in Isaiah: "Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them." In Proverbs, 28: 1, you will read, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous is as bold as a lion." This is true, dear child; and if you will love God and trust the kind Savior, there is nothing in all the wide world of which you need be afraid. God can take care of you as he did of Daniel, even if you were shut up in a dark cave with cruel and hungry lions around you.

The lion lies in his den and sleeps in the daytime, but at night he goes out to find his food. His eyes are a little like those of a cat, and he can see in the night better than we can. The Bible says, "Thou makest darkness and it is