about me to ask me too? Did she ask me?"

"I told her about you. And of course she asked you. You are my
playmate!"

Helma pulled a table to the settle and sat down with all the brown cloth
before her, a work-basket, and shears. But first she measured Eric for
his new clothes.

"You may make the leggins, if you want to," she said to Ivra, "and when
you come to a hard place tell me and I will help. You may even measure
them yourself.... We're the only Forest People, Eric, who wear anything
but white in the winter. Most Forest People like to be the color of
their world. They often laugh at us. But I like brown. Ivra makes me
think of a brown, blown leaf, and now here will be two of them! You can
blow together all over the forest."

Eric's eyes swam in sudden, happy tears, but he only said, "_Nora_ wore
red."

"Oh, she's not one of us," laughed Helma. "But she's lived close to us
so long, she is able to see us. We aren't afraid of her. She's a good
neighbor."

But why might they be afraid of such a nice old woman, Eric wondered. He
was to learn sometime, and much beside, for this was the beginning of
new things for him, and his mother, Helma, and Ivra were strange people.
But how he loved them!

"Now that we are settled at our work, and nothing to interrupt, what