Each morning she would scatter food upon the surface of the singing
stream and the lovely fish, their sides reflecting rainbow colors, would
leap from the tinkling waters and splash about to show their pleasure.
And she would place food about her little garden for the birds and they
in turn repaid her by their wonderful melodies.

Even the mama deer brought their little, wabbly-legged baby deer to
introduce to Sally Migrundy; and she rubbed their sleek sides and talked
to them so they couldn't but love her.

Now Sally Migrundy had always lived in her tiny cottage on the bank of
the tinkling stream which ran through the whispering forest. She had
lived there when the largest trees in the forest were tiny little
sprouts. She had lived there long before that, and even still longer
than that, and that, and that. Ever so much longer!

[Illustration]

One day a man who lived on a hill many, many miles away from the
whispering forest said to his wife: "Mother, wouldn't you like to know
where the water that flows from our spring goes to?" And his wife
replied: "It must travel until it reaches the ocean!"

"Yes, I know that, mother" he replied, "but I mean, wouldn't it be
interesting to know all of the country through which the water flows?"

So the more they talked of it, the more interested they became until the
man finally wrote upon a slip of paper and put the paper into a tiny
bottle. Then he put the bottle upon the surface of the spring water and
watched it float away.