“Now, then,” said George, “we must climb this, for I find it will not open;” so he was soon on the other side. But Rose was so short she could not even get to the top rail. “Oh, what are we to do?” cried she. “Why, if you cannot get over, Rose,” said George, “we must go back, for there is no way but this to reach aunt Jane’s house.” “Oh dear, oh dear!” said Rose, “why we are so near to it, I can see the roof through the trees.” “I cannot help it,” said George; “we must not stay here, for it will soon be dark.” “I am so tired!” said poor Rose, with a sigh. “Do not think of that now,” said George, as he got off the top of the gate on which he had sat to rest, “for we have a long way to go back, and must make haste;” so, hand-in-hand, they set off. In a short time they met a man that knew them well: “Ah, go home, go home,” said he, as he shook his stick at them; “they are all in a great fright about you.” Poor George and Rose ran as fast as they could, for they now thought they had done wrong to leave home. As soon as they got to the door, Rose ran up to her grandmamma, and said, as tears ran down her cheeks, “It was all my fault, _that_ it was; for George did not wish to go, but I led him out.” “No,” said George, “it was my fault too, for I knew it was wrong, and Rose did not.” “Well,” said their kind grandmamma, as she kissed them and dried their eyes, “you will not do so any more, I dare say, now that you feel that you are too young to go out alone. But it is high time you were in bed, so run up stairs to Ann, like a good boy and girl.” THE GLOW-WORM. As John and Mary Green were on their way home from their aunt’s house, where they had spent the day, they saw something bright in the grass by the road-side. “Look, look! what is that?” said John to the maid. “Oh, I dare say it is a drop of dew which shines in the light of the moon,” said she. “Oh, no,” said Mary, “the moon does not shine through that thick hedge at all: let me try to pick it up.” “Here it is,” cried John, “I have got hold of it; but it does not shine now: this cannot be it.” “Do not drop it,” said Mary; “but take it home to mamma, and she will tell us what it is.” They now made all the haste they could: they found their mamma at the hall-door, who was looking out for them, and told her what they had brought. “Oh, I dare say it is a glow-worm,” said she: “let me look at it: yes, that it is.” “A glow-worm! mamma,” said John and Mary, “what is that?” “It is a small worm, which is able to send forth a light from its body, which shines in the dark, as you saw it. This is the only insect of the kind which is found in our isle, but there are many in other lands, and some of them give far more light than this does. There is the fire-fly, which, as it flits in and out of the dark bushes in the night with its star-like light, must look very pretty.” “Oh, how I wish I could see it!” said John.