Excerpt from Fifth Reader: A Ballad of Tress and the Master IN former books you have had fables, tales, and poems from juvenile classics. N ow you are entering into companionship with the mighty masters of literature and with the creatures of their fancy. Here you are introduced to Portia, Rip Van Winkle, David Copperfield, the Primroses, and other charming people of the book world, with the hope that you will like them too well to confine your acquaintance within the brief limits necessary in this book. If. You have access to a library, you may read the books from which these selections are taken, but do not be content with that. Begin now to form a library of your very own, remembering that it is better to have a few good book friends than many casual acquaintances, and that you do not really own a book until you possess its inside as well as its outside. Collect a heart library as well as a home library, stor ing in your memory beautiful poems and noble prose. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.