The New McGuffey First Reader

THE NEW MCGUFFEY FIRST READER

The New McGuffey First Reader has been prepared in conformity with the latest and most approved ideas regarding the teaching of reading, and its lessons embody and illustrate the best features of the word, the phonic, and the sentence or thought methods.

While all the stories in this book are new, or have been rewritten especially for its pages, care has been taken to preserve the distinguishing characteristics which have given to the McGuffey Readers their unparalleled popularity and usefulness.

The gradation both in thought and in words has been carefully maintained, and the work provided enables the pupils to advance by easy and evenly progressive stages from the beginning to the end.

Only a few new words are introduced at each lesson, and these are repeated frequently in succeeding lessons until the pupils are able to recognize them without difficulty.

From the first lesson script is presented in connection with the printed forms of words, the frequency of its use diminishing as the printed forms become more familiar.

The sounds of the letters are taught, in the order of the alphabet, by appropriate exercises after the various reading lessons. The phonic elements and the common diacritical marks are learned one at a time and in a manner that is both natural and easy.

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A a N n

B b O o

C c P p

D d Q q

E e R r

F f S s

G g T t

H h U u

I i V v

J j W w

K k X x

L l Y y

M m Z z

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a boy I see

boy I see a boy

I see a boy

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girl can and the girl

I see a girl.

I see a boy.

I see a boy and a girl.

The boy can see the girl.

I can see the girl and the boy.

I can see the girl.

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man has hat run

See the man!

See the boy and the man!

The man has a hat.

Has the boy a hat?

The boy can run.

Can the man run?

The man can see the boy run.

a man can has hat a

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doll have my

I have a hat.

I have a doll.

See my doll!

Can the doll see?

I can see my doll.

Has the doll a hat?

My doll has a hat.

The girl has a doll and a hat.

a can has hat have a

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play may take ball

Can the boy play?

The boy can run and play.

The boy can play ball.

Can the man play ball?

The man may see the boy play.

May the man take the hall?

The boy may take the ball.

a may play take a

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baby little big

Can the girl see the baby?

Can the baby see the little girl?

The baby has a big doll.

The little girl has a ball.

I can see the baby.

Can the baby see my big hat?

The baby may have my ball.

Take the ball, baby!

a may play take baby a

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dog it he with

The man has a little dog.

The boy has a big dog.

See the little dog run!

He has my ball.

May the big dog have it?

May he take it?

The little dog may have the ball.

He may run and play with it.

b big boy ball baby b

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bird she not fly

See the little bird!

May the baby have it?

May she take it?

She can not take it.

The bird can fly.

The baby can not have the bird.

She can not fly.

She may play with my doll.

She may have my big hat.

b baby big bird b

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cow is good to

I see a man and a dog and a cow.

The cow is with the man.

The dog has a big hat.

He is a good little dog.

He may take the hat to the man.

The man is good to the dog.

The cow can run. She can not play.

c can cow c

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catch come you me

The baby can not have the bird.

She can not fly and catch it.

Can she catch the good little girl?

Come, baby, come!

Come and catch me.

Catch me and my big doll.

Catch me, and you may have the doll.

You may have it to play with.

c can catch come c

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The boy has a big dog.

You may see the dog play ball.

Can he catch it?

May I run and take it?

The man with the big hat has a cow.

The girl is good to the little baby.

The baby may have my big doll.

She can not catch the bird.

She may come with me and see the bird fly.

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can man me see

cow come run is

he has have hat

boy ball baby big

dog doll not bird

girl good you my

play may fly to

little catch and it

take she with the

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one two drum go

Come with me, and see the boys.

One little boy has a drum.

Two boys have big hats.

One boy has a ball.

See the boys go!

See the boys go with the drum.

One, two; one, two; drum, drum!

d dog doll drum d

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dress red glad will

The girls have come to play with the baby.

Two girls have little dolls.

One girl has a red dress.

The baby is glad to see the girls.

The girl with the red dress is May.

May is glad to see the good baby.

She will take the baby to see the bird.

d dress red glad bird d

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we are three in field

Come with me, little May.

We will go to the field.

We will go and see the cows.

The cows are in the field.

My cow is red.

Two cows are not red.

One and two are three.

We have three cows.

e me we he she e

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tree pretty high

Three birds are in the tree.

One is a pretty red bird.

You can not catch it.

It is high in the tree.

The red bird can see the boys with the drum.

It can see the little girl with the red dress.

It can see the good baby and the pretty doll.

It can see the man in the field.

Pretty birds, will you fly to me?

ee see tree three ee

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wagon let get ride now

The little boy has a red wagon.

Is it not a pretty one?

The boy will let little May ride in it.

Come, May, come and see my wagon.

You may get in it, and have a ride.

I will take you with me to the fields.

You may have a good ride.

Is the drum in the wagon?

Let me get it. Now we will go.

e red let get e

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apple yellow yes too if

See my pretty red apple!

I have three good apples.

One is red, and two are yellow.

I will give you the red one.

May I have a yellow one, too?

Yes. if you are a good girl.

I see a big red apple in the tree.

Will you let me get it?

Yes, you may if it is not too high.

e yes yellow get let red e

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Frank flowers find they them

Frank and little May are in the field with the wagon.

They have come to find flowers.

May has a red flower.

Frank has three yellow flowers.

He will let May have them.

She will take them to the wagon

She is glad to get the pretty flowers.

f field kind flowers Frank f

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by nest here feed

Come here, girls! I see a nest.

Little birds are in it.

One, two, three.

The little birds can not fly.

They are not pretty.

They will get pretty by and by.

The big bird is not here now.

She is high in the apple tree.

She will come to them by and by.

She will come and feed them.

g girls get glad big g

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woods like home horse

The boys like to go to the woods.

Here they are now.

Here are the horse and the wagon.

And here is the boy with the drum.

They like to play in the woods.

They like to find pretty flowers.

If they find little birds in a nest, they will not take them.

By and by they will go home.

They will ride home in the wagon.

h here high home horse h

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sit give but whip

Will you let me ride home with you, Frank?

Yes, May, you may sit by me in the wagon if you like.

Get in, and give me the whip.

I will not whip the good horse.

Now, here we go! Here is the apple tree, but we can not see the nest in it.

i sit give is whip think

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Here are three boys and two girls by the big apple tree.

One boy has a yellow drum and one has a whip.

The boy in the red wagon is Frank.

The girls are glad to see Frank.

He will give them a ride.

They like to go with him to the fields and the woods.

May we ride with you, Frank?

Yes, girls, get in! And you, too, boys!

Sit by me and see the good horse go.

Now we will go to the woods to find flowers and see the pretty birds.

In one tree you can see a nest, but you can not see the little birds.

You may see the big bird if she comes to feed the little ones.

She has a pretty home high in the tree.

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we are in now

one red ride sit

drum dress tree two

go give get glad

will let here nest

home horse three them

woods too if they

field find feed flowers

by yes high wagon

like whip but Frank

apple yellow pretty May

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this do kite father gave

Do you see this? It is my kite.

My father gave it to me.

Is it not a pretty one?

He gave me this drum, too.

You may go with me and see me fly my kite.

You may take the drum with you.

Are you not glad my father gave it to me?

i I like high kite i

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how far as jump John

Frank and John are in the field.

They have come here to play.

How high can you jump, Frank?

Can you jump as high as this?

I can not jump high, John, but

I can jump far.

See! I can jump as far as to the big apple tree.

Now, John, let me see you jump.

j John jump j

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does her kitten kind

Here is May with her kitten.

Her mother gave the kitten to her.

She is kind to the pretty kitten.

She likes to see it jump and play.

See it run with May's ball!

It does not run far with it.

If May can get the ball she will not take it.

She will give it to the kitten to play with.

k kitten kind like take can c

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all love away Lucy him fast

This is little Lucy.

Her home is far away.

She has come to see Frank and May.

All the little girls love Lucy.

They are kind and good to her, and she loves them.

Frank will let her ride with him in the big wagon.

He will give her the whip, and the horse will go fast.

The horse will go fast and far, but he will not run away.

l let little love all will l

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keep think morning look many

Look, Frank! See my pretty flowers.

Mother gave them to me.

She gave them to me this morning.

Do you not think they are pretty?

How many flowers have I?

Here are three my mother gave me.

My father gave me two red ones.

How many are three and two?

I will keep the red flower.

I will give all my yellow flowers to Lucy. She will like them.

She will take them home with her.

m man many mother me

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must your four at

Good morning, little bird.

Good morning, kind Lucy.

How pretty your nest is, little bird!

May I look at the little ones in it?

Yes, you may look at them, but you must not take them away.

How many birds have you?

Let me see. One, two, three, four.

I do not think they are pretty.

They may not be pretty now, but I love them, little girl.

n nest not in many n

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gone on very his

Frank has gone to the field with his kite. He likes to play with it.

It is the kite his father gave him.

He will run and the kite will fly.

He can run very fast, and the kite can fly very high.

John does not like to run with a kite.

He likes to play on his drum.

He will play on his drum, and

Frank will run with his kite.

o on gone John dog o

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oh of rose some

Oh, mother, come here!

See this pretty flower.

I think it is a rose.

Is it not a yellow rose?

Yes, May. It is a yellow rose.

If you will come with me,

I will give you some red roses.

May I have them to keep, mother?

You may keep some of them, but you must give some to Lucy.

Oh, yes! I will give her four red roses, and one yellow rose.

I will give her some to take home to her mother, too.

Do you like yellow roses, mother?

Yes, May, I think they are very pretty.

o oh rose home four o

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John was a good boy this morning.

His mother gave him a pretty book.

He was very glad.

"Oh, mother," he said, "how kind you are to give me this book!

I think it is very pretty."

"You must take good care of it," said his mother.

"Yes, mother," said John, "and I will let Lucy and May look at it too.

They like to look at pretty books."

"The girls will think you are a very kind little boy.

They will take good care of your book."

oo book look good oo

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school soon going new other

All the boys and girls are going to school this morning.

You can see them as they go.

Little Lucy is not with them.

She has gone to her home, far away.

But I see May and some other girls.

John has his new book. Some of the other boys have books, too.

I do not see Frank, but I think he will come soon.

oo too school soon do to o

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found pet took after picture

Look at this picture.

It is the picture of my pet kitten.

Do you not think she is a pretty pet?

One morning as I was going to school, I found this kitten.

She was by a tree in the woods.

After school I took her home.

"Mother," I said, "see this pretty little kitten. May I keep her as a pet?"

Mother said, "You may keep her if you will take good care of her."

I am kind to my kitten.

I feed her and she loves me.

p pet picture pretty keep p

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My mother gave me a new book.

I took it to school one morning, to let the girls see the pictures.

Soon after this I found my pet kitten and took her home with me.

I like to play with my pet kitten.

I will do as mother says. I will take good care of the kitten.

I love little Lucy. But now she has gone far away to her home.

I like to see John run with his kite.

He can run as fast as the other boys, but he can not jump far.

He does not like to look at books and pictures, but he can play on a drum.

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[missing text on page 42]

as on soon rose must was now some care at do said her him his how oh all love but keep kite kitten kind look book took does think pet picture other mother father far fast four found after of away many very Lucy John morning gone going your school gave jump this

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goes read tell write well name

The name of this little girl is Rose.

Do you think she looks like a rose?

Do you think Rose is a pretty name?

Rose goes to school.

She can read and write.

At home, she likes to read to her mother. She likes to look at the pictures, too.

Tell me, Rose, how well you can read.

Can you read well in your book?

I think you can write very well.

Can you write your name?

r rose read run her your r

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were so day then be

Can you tell me the name of this pretty little bird?

It is so little it can not fly very far.

Some of the boys found it in the woods, as they were going to school one day.

It was not in a nest.

Frank said; "I will take the little bird home with me.

It will be a good pet."

So Frank took it as he said.

He is kind to it and feeds it. but he will not keep it.

Some day it can fly well.

Then Frank will let it go.

It will fly away with the other birds.

s so some said nice c

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us our shall learn children their

Come, girls let us play with our dolls.

We will play school.

Our dolls will be the children.

Our dolls are as good as some children are.

They have their books, and I think, they will learn very fast.

Soon we shall see how well they can read.

This doll is not so good as the others.

She does not like to go to school very well.

She must sit by me and look at her book.

As soon as she can read well, she may go home and play.

She goes to school day after day, but she does not learn.

She can not write at all.

She can not tell her name.

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This is my little doll.

Her name is Lucy.

Do you thik she is pretty?

s as dolls does goes is

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tall Henry am table what

"How tall you are, Henry!"

"Yes, father, I shall soon be a man.

I am as tall as the table, now."

"What can you see on the table?"

"I can see your big book, father."

"What do you see by the book?"

"Oh, I see some pictures. Two pictures are by the book, and two are not by the book."

"How many are two and two, Henry?"

"Two and two are four."

"You do well. If you learn fast, you may soon go to school.

Then you can learn how to read and write."

t tall table tell what not t

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funny pail up hill water there

Oh, mother, come and look at this funny picture.

What do you see in the picture Lucy?

I see two children in the picture.

I see a tall boy and little girl.

How fast they run!

They are going up hill, too.

The boy has a pail.

I think he is going to get a pail of water for his mother.

How very funny it must be to run up hill!

Will they find water on the hill?

Oh, yes, I see a well up there.

They must be good children to go so far after a pail of water.

There must be good water in the well.

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

To get a pail of water;

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after.

u up run must funny u

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says say out sure June

Our mother says we may go and see little Lucy.

We are going some day in June, soon after our school is out.

We do not have school in June.

Lucy's home is far away.

We shall ride there in the big wagon with father and mother.

Father says it will take all day to go so far.

Mother says I must be sure to take

Lucy some of our good apples.

I will take her a book, too.

I am sure Lucy will be glad to see us. She will run out to the wagon and tell us so.

What do you think she will say?

She will say, "Oh, May, I am so glad you have come."

u sure June Lucy u

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violets sweet buy who

Violets sweet, violets sweet!

Who will buy my violets sweet?

Violets sweet, violets sweet!

I will buy your violets sweet.

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vine bush wild grow

See this funny little tree!

What kind of tree is it?

It is not a tree, it is a vine.

It is not so tall as some trees.

It looks like a wild rose vine.

Will it have roses on it?

Yes, I think some roses will grow on it; but I am not sure.

Wild roses come in June.

Some of them are very sweet.

My roses are not wild.

They do not grow on a vine.

They grow on a bush.

A bush looks like a little tree.

v vine very have give v

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went came would down street sell

Little Henry went to school this morning.

All the children were glad to see him as he came down the street.

He is a funny little boy, and I am sure you would like him.

He says he will grow very fast and soon be a man.

He likes to go to school.

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One day Henry took a pail with him and went up the hill.

Do you think he went to get a pail of water? I do not think so.

He went to find violets and wild flowers in the woods.

After a little he came down; but he would not let me look in his pail.

He would not tell me how many flowers were in it.

"Who will buy my wild roses?" he said. "Who will buy my sweet violets?

I came down the street to sell my flowers. But now I must say they do not sell very well."

w went well wild would way w

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sun sunflower know

Do you know the name of this big yellow flower?

What kind of flower is it?

Oh, I know.

It is a sunflower.

Does it look like the sun?

It likes the sun.

Do you know what sunflowers are good for?

Yes, they are good to look at.

If you will go to the field on the hill, you may see many of them.

They are not sweet flowers, like your violets and some others.

If you will give me one of your pretty roses, you may have all the sunflowers I can find.

I like roses and sweet violets.

I like to see big, yellow sunflowers, too; but I do not care to take them home with me. Do you?

y you yes yellow y

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try from for about

Come here, Henry, and sit by me at the table.

Your mother has gone out to buy a new book for you.

She says you must learn to read.

I am sure you will try to learn.

Then you can read about the pretty birds, and the tall sunflowers, and good children at school.

Soon you may take your book to school.

See this picture, Henry.

It is a picture of a little bird.

I think it is a yellow bird.

The bird has a pretty nest in the woods.

Would you not like to see the little ones in it?

By and by, they will come out and try to fly.

Very soon you may see them as they fly from bush to bush.

y by try fly my buy y

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I have a book.

I learn to read in it.

I can write my name.

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bee busy buzz sing work

We fly about from flower to flower.

We sing as we work.

Would you like to know what we sing?

We sing, "Buzz, buzz."

You will say,

"What a funny way to sing!"

But we do not care what you say.

We are too busy to think about it.

You must not keep us from our work.

What is as busy as a bee?

All day it sings as it works,

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shining hour?

It gathers honey all the day

From every bud and flower.

s bees buzz busy z

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A B C SONG. [musical notation omitted]

A B C D E F G

H I J K L M N O P

Q R S T U V W

Q R S T U V W

X… Y… Z, O dear me!

I can not say my A B C.

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when warm walk these

One morning when the sun was warm these children went out to take a walk.

Do you know who they are?

I see May and Rose and little Lucy.

There are two other girls with them, but I do not know their names.

They took a little wagon with them, and went up the hill.

They went to the field on the hill to find some violets.

They found some sunflowers in the field, but violets do not grow there.

They saw a wild rose, but a busy bee was on it.

"Now," said Lucy, "let us go to the well and see if it has water in it."

"Yes," said one of the other girls, "the sun is too hot here. But if we go to the well, you must take care not to fall in."

"Oh, I will not fall in," said Lucy.

"I will look at the water far down in the well; but I will not fall."