76 101. High and Low Land. The alpaca lives near the equator. Look at its long wool. Do you not think that this little animal suffers from heat? The wool is very fine, and is made into cloth. Have you ever seen any alpaca cloth? The alpaca looks like a little camel, but it does not live ina sandy desert. Each toe has a tough sole to help climb rocky places where the alpaca goes to find grass. The home of the alpaca is high among the Andes. Even in summer it can see snowy peaks only a little distance above the places where it feeds. Do you think that the alpaca needs its warm coat of wool? Alpaca. Some mountains near the equator are very cold. The sun often shines straight down on lofty peaks that.are cov- ered with snow. - _ The thin pure air on high plateaus and mountains is. colder than the air of the lowlands which are at the same distance as the:highlands from the equator.’ 102. The Seasons.- Which is the coldest part of the year? Which is the hottest part ? What season comes be- fore summer? What one comes before winter ? Can you name three kinds of fruit that ripen in autumn? Three in summer? Storks of Strassburg. THE SEASONS. In what season do most of the wild flowers blossom ? What can you see on a winter day that you cannot see on a summer day ? What games do you play in winter? In spring? In What ones | in summer ? autumn ? Which season do you like & best ? 103. Change of Seasons. Once a year the earth goes round the sun. The path of the earth is almost a circle, with the sun near its center. For six months the vertical rays of the sun fall north of the equator. During the other half of the year they fall south of that line. While the sun is north of the equator we . have spring and summer. While it is south of the equator we have autumn and winter. When it is winter on one side of the equator it is summer on the other side. A Snowstorm. 104. A Sign of Spring. One sign of spring is the coming of the storks. They visit nearly all parts of Europe, going as far north even as Lapland. The storks make their nests of sticks on the tops of buildings and in tall trees. There they lay their large white eggs. These birds are always welcome, as they are thought to bring good luck. When the cold season begins in Europe, the storks fly south. They cross the great sea and visit Africa.