صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

HE forty-eight States of our Union are like the

TH

the treasures in all the forty-eight rooms are guarded by the Star-Spangled Banner.

It waves in the dry, prairie wind of the Dakotas and Minnesota, where golden grain ripples like the waves of a vast sea. It flutters over the States of the Rocky Mountains, where gold and silver and iron are mined by great machines all day long.

[ocr errors]

It flies over the States of the middle plains, where so much corn is raised that we call it the "corn belt.' It brightens the air over vast coal-fields in the States of the eastern mountains.

It blows above the white cotton-fields of the South and the wonderful fruit ranches of South and West. In Texas it sees the mighty herds of cattle that supply food for millions of people.

Oh, what wonderful things the Stars and Stripes protect! Forests of timber; mountains of rich ore; millions of miles of fruit and grain; deep harbors full of strong, swift ships; giant cities full of factories and stores; seas, lakes, and rivers full of fish.

We do not often think how many gifts America has that no other country has so much of. There are many ways in which the United States is the richest country in the world.

America is the greatest farming country in the world. She raises the most corn, the most fruit, and the most cotton of all countries, and next to the most wheat. America is also the greatest fish country and the greatest meat country; the largest cattle ranch in the world is in Texas. America has the most coal and the most iron of any country.

America manufactures the most steel and iron of

any country. She makes the best telephones, the best telegraphs, the best railroad beds and railroad cars in the world. There are more miles of railroad in this country than in any other, and more automobiles in this country than in all the other countries together.

These are only a few of the riches our Mother America provides. The great family of the American Republic is a very fortunate family. Its home is big enough and rich enough for all its children.

We are glad and thankful that we live in America. It is good to have clean homes, with running water and pleasant light, warmed in winter and airy in summer. It is good to have electric cars and trains and motors. It is pleasant to have good things to eat and comfortable, pretty clothes to wear. Grown-up people who have traveled all over the world to the other countries tell us that only the richest people in other lands have the comforts that most Americans have.

Being glad and thankful, we are all going to be more careful of our riches than we were before we thought about it, and more generous in sharing them.

Some of us are new children of America. Some of us have come poor to our new home. Until we know

English well and know how best to be useful, we cannot get all we want of the good things here. What are we going to do?

We are going to learn as fast as we can in America's schools. We are going to keep our homes and ourselves as clean as we can because that is the American way. We are going to take all the helps America gives and use them; the playgrounds, the community houses, the libraries, and the advice of older citizens. Soon we shall have better clothes, better homes, and better food. Soon we shall understand more what it is to be an American.

And always we will love America with all our hearts and believe in her democracy. Her democracy means brotherhood, opportunity, and service. We will not be like the little pigs who eat, and give no thanks, and share nothing. We can serve even while we are small, by giving our loyalty and obedience. The hearts of honest and kind citizens are America's greatest possessions. Not selfishly, but all for all, we will be citizens of the richest country in the world.

[graphic][subsumed][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

TH

eight States which make the richest country in the world. And the same forty-eight States make the most beautiful country in the world. America is a land of beauty beyond telling.

If this whole book were filled with stories of America's beautiful spots, it could not tell them all. We will only look at some especially wonderful things.

When we go into the country for a happy time we

« السابقةمتابعة »