CHAPTER IV.

THE COFFEE-PARTY

"How would you like to be a wood-cutter, Hans?"

"I think it would be great sport. I like to hear the thud of the axe
as it comes down on the trunk. Then it is always an exciting time as
the tree begins to bend and fall to the ground. Somehow, it seems
like a person. I can't help pitying it, either."

Hans had come over to the next village on an errand for his father.
A big sawmill had been built on the side of the stream, and all the
men in the place were kept busy cutting down trees in the Black
Forest, or working in the sawmill.

After the logs had been cut the right length, they were bound into
rafts, and floated down the little stream to the Rhine.

"The rafts themselves seem alive," said Hans to his friend. "You men
know just how to bind the logs together with those willow bands, so
they twist and turn about like living creatures as they move down the
stream."

"I have travelled on a raft all the way from here to Cologne,"
answered the wood-cutter. "The one who steers must be skilful, for
he needs to be very careful. You know the rafts grow larger all the
time, don't you, Hans?"

"Oh, yes. As the river becomes wider, the smaller ones are bound