1．Understanding－Yourself and Others 11
The Torn Invitation＆by NORMAN KATKOV 12
Mother to Son (poem)＆by LANGSTON HUGHES 22
My Financial Career＆by STEPHEN LEACOCK 23
The Blind Men and the Elephant：A Hindoo Fable (poem)＆by JOHN GODFREY SAXE 26
Where I Took Hold of Life (poem)＆by R．P．TRISTRAM COFFIN 28
Treasure＆by FRED GIPSON 29
Tavern (poem)＆by EDNA ST．VINCENT MILLAY 34
Green Escape (poem)＆by JOSEPH AUSLANDER 35
A Lesson in Discipline＆by TERESA FOLEY 36
The Teacher (poem)＆by ANNETTE WYNNE 41
The Hippopotamus (poem)＆by OGDEN NASH 41
My Aunt Daisy Was the First Girl Scout＆by ARTHUR GORDON 42
A Fiddler (poem)＆by WALTER DE LA MARE 48
The Gift of Love＆by D．V．S．JACKSON 49
The Right Kind of People (poem)＆by EDWIN MARKHAM 61
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 62
Tall Clubs for Tall People 66
Every Scout＇s a Ruler：or，How to Measure Without a Yardstick! 69
Insomnia，Stamps，and Mr．Minkus＆by MARION HARGROVE 72
The King＇s Man 75
Grandma Takes a 2，000-Mile Hike 79
BOOKS ABOUT PEOPLE 81
2．Action－Sports and Outdoor Life 83
Most Valuable Player＆by W．L．HEATH 84
Fisherman＇s Lack (poem)＆by RICHARD ARMOUR 94
The Girl Who Went Higher－and Farther－and Faster＆By BABE DIDRIKSON ZAHARIAS 95
Wild Mares Running (poem)＆by FRANK SWAIN 104
Swift Things Are Beautiful (poem)＆by ELIZABETH COATSWORTH 105
The Song of Wandering Aengus (poem)＆by W．B．YEATS 105
Going Down Hill on a Bicycle＆by HENRY CHARLES BEECHING 106
Thanksgiving Hunter＆by JESSE STUART 107
My Heart＇s in the Highlands＆by ROBERT BURNS 113
On Skating＆by CORNELIA OTIS SKINNER 114
Hills (poem)＆by ARTHUR GUITERMAN 119
Kloochman＆by WILLIAM O．DOUGLAS 120
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 128
Stalking＆by WILLIAM HILLCOURT 128
At the 1896 Olympics＆by THOMAS P．CURTIS 131
Softball Is Born＆by HAROLD KEITH 135
Choices＆by JEREMIAH TAX 138
Good Loser or Better Loser？ 141
BOOKS ABOUT SPORTS AND OUTDOOR LIFE 145
3．Adventure－Strength and Courage 147
The Tiger＇s Heart＆by JIM KJELGAARD 148
Jungle Incident (poem)＆by RUSSELL G．CARTER 155
The Panther (poem)＆by OGDEN NASH 155
In the Arctic＆by HARMON and CONSTANCE HELMERICKS 156
Molly Pitcher (poem)＆by LAURA E．RICHARDS 162
The Strangest Chase in Any War＆by DAVID MORGAN 163
Legend (poem)＆by JUDITH WRIGHT 174
Seumas Beg (poem)＆by JAMES STEPHENS 176
Eagle from the Sea＆by T．O．BEACHCROFT 177
The Ballad of William Sycamore (poem)＆by STEPHEN BENET 188
The Green Hills of Earth＆by ROBERT A．HEINLEIN 190
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 198
What Was the Pony Express？ 198
The Snake Bite＆by MARQUIS JAMES 203
Rogue-Elephant Hunt＆by JOHN A．HUNTER，as told to DANIEL P．MANNIX 206
Saved by His Mistakes 210
Who Saw the Sch＇goon？＆by LOUIS DUPREE 213
BOOKS ABOUT ADVENTURE 217
4．Discovery－Nature，Science，and Invention 219
Mirror for the Stars＆by FREDA DIAMOND 220
Spelunkers All＆by FRANKLIN FOLSOM 226
The Energetic Sea (poem)＆ANONYMOUS 232
Something Told the Wild Geese (poem)＆by RACHEL FIELD 233
The White Lady Finds Her Wings＆by LEONARD DUBKIN 234
Weddings－The Great Peacock Moth and the Lesser Peacock Moth＆by J．HENRI FABRE 241
The Purist (poem)＆by OGDEN NASH 244
The Octopus (poem)＆by OGDEN NASH 244
Surgery Made Safe＆by JOSEPH COTTLER and HAYM JAFFE 245
Crawford Long and William Morton (poem)＆by ROSEMARY and STEPHEN BENET 249
Some Inventors and Their Inventions＆by CHARLES F．KETTERING 250
Under a Telephone Pole (poem)＆by CARL SANDBURG 256
Prayers of Steel (poem)＆by CARL SANDBURG 256
Miracles (poem)＆by WALT WHITMAN 257
The Unvanished American＆by WATSON FENIMORE 258
The Flower-Fed Buffaloes (poem)＆by VACHEL LINDSAY 265
Lulu＆by ISAK DINESEN 266
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 272
Some Animal Partnerships 272
Who Says Geese Are Silly？ 275
Be Thankful for Dust 279
Way，Way，Way Down Under 282
Way，Way，Way Up Above 286
BOOKS ABOUT NATURE，SCIENCE，AND INVENTION 289
5．Achievement－Dreams and Deeds 291
Will Rogers：Ambassador of Laughter＆by ALICE COOPER and CHARLES PALMER 292
The Two Log-Rollers (poem)＆by ERNEST THOMPSON SETON 303
Tall Daniel (poem)＆by R．P．TRISTRAM COFFIN 304
What a Good Pain!＆by AGNES DE MILLE 306
The Bridge Builder (poem)＆by WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 313
Helen Keller Discovers the World＆by HELEN KELLER 314
The Glow Within (poem)＆by BERTON BRALEY 321
The Searchlight＆by ADM．RICHARD E．BYRD 322
Columbus (poem)＆by JOAQUIN MILLER 333
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 334
It Took a Big Wind and a Fire 334
The Two Achievements of Andrew Carnegie 339
The Deep-Freeze Man＆by FLETCHER PRATT 342
Kit Carson－Knight of the Wilderness 345
What Hath God Wrought 349
BOOKS ABOUT ACHIEVEMENT 353
6．Heritage－Laughter and Tears 355
Rip Van Winkle＆by WASHINGTON IRVING 356
The Ballad of the Oysterman (poem)＆by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 369
Jim Baker＇s Bluejay Yarn＆by MARK TWAIN 371
The Wreck of the Hesperus (poem)＆by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 375
O Captain!My Captain!(poem)＆by WALT WHITMAN 377
The Twenty-third Psalm，from the BIBLE 378
A Christmas Carol (play)＆by CHARLES DICKENS，adapted by WALTER HACKETT 379
Lochinvar (poem)＆by SIR WALTER SCOTT 390
A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig＆from CHARLES LAMB 392
Jabberwocky (poem)＆by LEWIS CARROLL 395
The First Blow＆by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 396
A Struggle for Life＆by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH 401
SKILLS FOR BETTER READING (selections) 410
A Man Against a Loon＆by HENRY THOREAU 411
BOOKS THAT ARE PART OF OUR HERITAGE 415
A LOOK AT THE AUTHORS 416
GLOSSARY 421
INDEX 429