"I intend to become a poet," he used to say. He read _Romeo and Juliet_ in English. Then he wrote a play in which were _Hamlet_ and _King Lear_. And there were forty-two other characters. All of these died or were killed in the fourth act and were brought back as ghosts in the fifth! He played the piano, too, and seems to have been quite as busy a boy as he was a man. Of one composer's music he was very fond. This composer lived nearby and passed the Wagner house almost every day. Richard always ran to the window to watch him coming. This musician was the composer of _Der Freischuetz_ and of _Oberon_. Can you guess his name? This composer's father was also a musician as well as a military man. [Illustration: No. 15] WEBER Children will be glad to know that Wagner was very fond of animals. Here he is with a picture of one of his dogs. His favorite dogs are buried in the garden of his home at Bayreuth, where Wagner is also buried. Wagner called his home at Bayreuth "Wahnfried," which really means "Fancy Free." It is beautifully located in the heart of the old town. [Illustration: No. 16] WAGNER AND HIS DOG Later on the boy read about the contest of _Die Meistersinger_. He was then sixteen. And he read, too, a poem called _Tannhaeuser_. He kept these stories in mind until he became a man and then he wrote an opera about each. Thus we see that we carry childhood thoughts into manhood. [Illustration: No. 17] Here is a list of the operas by Richard Wagner, with their names pronounced:-- _The Fairies_ (1833). _Das Liebesverbot_ (1836) leebes-fehr-bote. _Rienzi_ (1842) ree-ent'-see. _The Flying Dutchman_ (1842). _Tannhaeuser_ (1845) tan'-hoy-ser. _Lohengrin_ (1847) lo'-en-green. _Das Rheingold_ (1869) rhine-gold. _Die Walkuere_ (1870) dee val-kee-reh. _Siegfried_ (1869) seeg'-freed. _Tristan and Isolde_ (1865) e-sol'-deh. _Die Meistersinger_ (1867). _Die Goetterdaemmerung_ (1876) dee getter-day-meh-roongk. _Parsifal_ (1882) par'-se-fal. Wagner also wrote symphonies and a few works for chorus and orchestra, but he is so much greater as a composer of music dramas that he is known mostly for his works for the stage. SOME FACTS ABOUT RICHARD WAGNER Read these facts about Richard Wagner and try to write his story out of them, using your own words. When your story is finished, ask your mother or your teacher to read it. When you have made it, copy it on pages 14, 15 and 16. 1. Richard Wagner wrote operas. 2. He was born May 22nd, 1813. 3. How long did Wagner study music? 4. His operas, like the novels of Charles Dickens, are full of wonderful characters. 5. Besides people of every day kind there are gods and goddesses, and giants, and other strange beings in his operas. 6. As a boy Richard Wagner went to a classical school.