Mr. Mason's house is five miles from any neighbor, and fifteen miles from town. There is no garden or fence round it, and there are no trees to be seen anywhere near. But there are wild flowers in abundance. One of them is a species of cactus. It bears beautiful yellow blossoms in summer, after which comes the fruit, a prickly pear, not good to eat. Another kind of cactus has crimson and scarlet blossoms, but no prickly pears. Both of these plants are covered with sharp thorns and prickles. Jimmy thinks the blossoms are pretty; but he does not like to pick them. Can you guess why? Where do you suppose Jimmy goes to school? Well, he goes to his mamma, and he has a very nice teacher. He never gets lonesome; for he has so much to do and so much to think about, that he has no time to be lonesome. He helps his mother in the house, he takes care of the chickens, he makes friends with the sheep. When he gets a little bigger, he will ride on horseback and help his papa in taking care of the horses and cattle out on the hills. EMMA MITCHELL. JESSIE AND HER KITTEN. "O MAMMA!" said little Jessie one stormy afternoon, "I'm tired of playing with dolly, I'm tired of looking at pictures, I'm tired of my blocks, and I'm tired of sitting still. What shall I do?" "Call kitty," said her mother, "and let her try to catch this ball while you hold the string." "Oh, yes, that will be fun," said Jessie; "but if I make a noise, mamma, you will be sure to say, 'Hush, my child! or you will wake grandma.'" Her mamma laughed, and said, "I think we can manage that, dear. You shall go down in the large front-hall, and there you can run and play as much as you please." Jessie was delighted with this plan, and presently stood holding the ball just out of reach of the kitten's paws, saying, "Catch it if you can, kitty; catch it if you can!" As soon as kitty, standing on her hind-legs, had her paw almost upon it, away Jessie would run, shouting and laughing, and kitty would follow her as fast as she could go. [Illustration] When they had played till Jessie was quite tired, she went to her mamma with kitty cuddled in her arms, and said, "We have had a jolly time, mamma! Now I must give kitty some milk and put her to bed; for I think she is hungry and sleepy after so much exercise." This last was a big word for such a little girl, and she said it quite slowly. "Yes, dear," mamma said, smiling, "and I think I know somebody else who will soon be hungry and sleepy too." JANE OLIVER. [Illustration] TWO SIDES.