they said, was a famous giant and hunter. He lived alone with his father on the edge of the forest. When he grew up he went out into the world to seek his fortune, and

he soon entered the service of Diana, the moon goddess.

Well, as you must know, Diana herself was very fond of hunting and very skillful in the use of the bow. She had charge of all the forests and mountains, and was the goddess of hunters and of wild beasts.

Besides all this she was expected to light the world when her brother, the sun, was off duty. She certainly must have had a great deal to do. I do not wonder that she was glad when Orion, that strong young hunter, came to serve her. She soon became much attached to him, for he was very skillful and always ready to do her bidding.

Every day with his faithful dog, Sirius, Orion

went hunting in the forests. The country was overrun with wild beasts, so that there was no safety anywhere. Orion killed a great many of these fierce creatures. He performed great service for Diana, and he had many adventures.

Once he had the great misfortune of losing his eyes. What to do or where to go he did not know. But at last he heard the clang of a blacksmith's forge, and, guided by the sound, he found the place where the smith was at work.

Now this was Vulcan, the first blacksmith in the world, they said. It was he who taught men the use of fire and helped them to make a hammer. He it was, who forged all the thunder bolts for the gods and had charge of the lightning. He seems to have been a very important person. Whenever any of these gods had a great piece of work to be done, Vulcan was sent for.

He was kind-hearted, too, and when he saw that Orion was in trouble he was anxious to help him. "Climb up on my shoulder," said Orion, "and guide me to the place in the east, where the first sunbeam strikes the earth.”

Vulcan readily agreed; so followed by Sirius,

they started at once. After a long time they reached the place where the first rays of the sun strike the earth. They fell on Orion's eyes and quickly restored his sight, as you will be glad to know.

But at last our hero came to an untimely end, and this was how it happened. Diana and her brother, Apollo, were shooting at different things in order to try their skill with the bow. "See if you can hit that black speck rising and falling on the waves," said Apollo.

Now this dark object which they could hardly see, was the head of Orion, who was swimming far out from shore. Diana drew her bow and shot her arrow at the dark speck. Straight flew the arrow and hit the mark-it sank and rose no more.

How Diana grieved for her favorite! How she regretted her foolishness in shooting at everything she saw! But it was too late. All she could do now was to place him among the stars with his faithful dog, Sirius, for company.

This is the old story. If you will look in the southeast any clear night in winter you will readily find this beautiful constellation, Orion. Farther in

the southeast, behind Orion, is Sirius, the largest and brightest star in the heavens. You will know that it is a star and not a planet, for it twinkles

gaily and planets do not twinkle. They are much

nearer us, and they shine with a calm, steady light.

The constellations and the stars have been called by these old names for thousands of years. In a chapter in the Bible about the power and glory of God who made all things, Orion and others are mentioned.

How beautiful are the stars, those wonderful works of God! They tell us of God's power and of His goodness to the children of men.

"The Heavens show forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth the work of His hands."

HOW HIAWATHA MADE HIS CANOE

All boys and girls like to read about Hiawatha and all that he did in the wild country where he lived. There is one good story called "Hiawatha's Sailing," which tells us how at one time he made a

canoe.

Hiawatha needed a canoe very much, for he often wished to cross the lake, or go up and down the river on his hunting trips. So he decided to make one. He thought how light and dainty he would make it, saying to himself: "It shall float upon the water like a yellow water lily."

He would need birch bark for this canoe and many other things in the forest, so he went forth one bright morning to find them. It was very still in the deep forest and he was quite alone, except for the birds that were singing gaily. This was in the month of May, or as the Indians say, "the moonof-leaves."

Hiawatha soon found near the river a tall and stately tree of white birch. Its bark was wrapped like a cloak around it, as smooth as satin. This was exactly what he wanted for the canoe.