Graded Literature Readers: Fourth Book

75. All that the prince could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier by saying that this officer had always given the sultan good advice.

After this Schaibar said: "This is not yet enough; I will treat all the people in the same way if they do not immediately acknowledge Prince Ahmed, my brother-in-law, for their sultan and the sultan of the Indies."

76. Then all that were there present made the air echo again with the repeated shouts of "Long life to Sultan Ahmed!" and immediately he was proclaimed through the whole town. Schaibar had him installed on the throne, and after he had caused all to swear fidelity to Ahmed, he brought Peribanou with all the pomp and grandeur imaginable, and had her crowned sultaness of the Indies.

I. Sŭl´tan: an Eastern king. Ho̤us´sā̍in. Äh´mĕd. No̤urŏn´ĭ här. Dĭs guīs̝ed´: dressed for the purpose of concealment. Bĭs nȧ gär´.Trăns pōrt´ĕd: carried. Säm ar känd´.Çĕr´ē̍ mō̍ nĭes̝: forms of politeness. Cŏm mĕnd´ĕd: praised.

II. Hẽr´mĭt: a man who lives apart from other people. Rē̍ nounçe´: give up. Lēagues̝: a league is a measure of distance of from two to four miles. Pōrt: manner of carrying oneself. Ġē´nĭes̝: spirits; powerful fairies. Pĕ rï bä´no̤u.Ĭn´fĭ nĭtely̆: beyond measure; greatly. Cŏn jĕc´tū̍re: guess.

III. Ē̍ quĭpped´: dressed; fitted out. Pĕn´ē̍ trāte: pierce into. Viz´iers: in Eastern countries, officers of high rank. Fĭ dĕl´ĭ ty̆: faithfulness.

IV. Ĭm pŏs´tor: a cheat; one who imposes upon others. Fŏr beâr´: keep from. Sȯv´ẽreĭgn: effectual.

V. Cŏn jūre´: beg earnestly. No̤ur´gĭ hän. Ĭn crē̍ dū´lĭ ty̆: unbelief. Qua̤r´tẽr stȧff: a long, stout staff used as a weapon.

VI. Mo̤us tȧçh´ĭ ō̍s̝: mustache. Dĭ vẽrt´: turn aside. Ĭn tẽr çēde´: speak in his behalf. Ĭn sta̤lled´: placed in office.

The Planting of the Apple Tree

By William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878): An American poet and journalist. His most famous poem is "Thanatopsis," written when he was only eighteen. Among his other poems are "To a Waterfowl," "The Death of the Flowers," and "To a Fringed Gentian."

1. Come, let us plant the apple tree.
Cleave the tough greensward with the spade;
Wide let its hollow bed be made;
There gently lay the roots, and there
Sift the dark mold with kindly care,
And press it o'er them tenderly,
As round the sleeping infant's feet
We softly fold the cradle sheet;
So plant we the apple tree.

2. What plant we in this apple tree?
Buds which the breath of summer days
Shall lengthen into leafy sprays;
Boughs where the thrush, with crimson breast,
Shall haunt and sing, and hide her nest;
We plant, upon the sunny lea,
A shadow for the noontide hour,
A shelter from the summer shower,
When we plant the apple tree.

3. What plant we in this apple tree?
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs
To load the May wind's restless wings,
When, from the orchard row he pours
Its fragrance through our open doors;
A world of blossoms for the bee,
Flowers for the sick girl's silent room,
For the glad infant sprigs of bloom
We plant with the apple tree.

4. What plant we in this apple tree?
Fruits that shall swell in sunny June,
And redden in the August noon,
And drop, when gentle airs come by
That fan the blue September sky;
While children come, with cries of glee,
And seek them where the fragrant grass
Betrays their bed to those who pass,
At the foot of the apple tree.

5. And when, above this apple tree,
The winter stars are quivering bright,
And winds go howling through the night,
Girls, whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth,
Shall peel its fruit by cottage hearth,
And guests in prouder homes shall see,
Heaped with the grape of Cintra's vine,
And golden orange of the line,
The fruit of the apple tree.

6. The fruitage of this apple tree
Winds and our flag of stripe and star
Shall bear to coasts that lie afar,
Where men shall wonder at the view,
And ask in what fair groves they grew;
And sojourners beyond the sea
Shall think of childhood's careless day,
And long, long hours of summer play
In the shade of the apple tree.

7. Each year shall give this apple tree
A broader flush of roseate bloom,
A deeper maze of verdurous gloom,
And loosen, when the frost clouds lower,
The crisp brown leaves in thicker shower.
The years shall come and pass, but we
Shall hear no longer, where we lie,
The summer's songs, the autumn's sigh,
In the boughs of the apple tree.

8. And time shall waste this apple tree.
Oh, when its aged branches throw
Thin shadows on the ground below,
Shall fraud and force and iron will
Oppress the weak and helpless still?