"But they look so bare when the leaves are gone," said Annie.

"Yes; but you can see the shapes of the trunks and branches, down to the
little twigs. You can tell the name of the tree from its skeleton, for
each has its own form--the sturdy oak, the stiff poplar, the drooping
willow, and the elegant silver birch. You should see them after a fall
of snow. Each tree bears the weight of snow after a different
fashion--like itself.

"In fact the woods during a bright hard frost are as good as Fairyland.
The brown dead oak leaves lying on the ground are fringed all round the
edges with what looks like small diamonds sparkling in the sun. The
frost takes every blade of grass, every twig and straw, and covers them
with glittering crystal, and the whole air is clear and bright."

"We have some very beautiful days in winter," said Katey.

"Yes," said her mother; "calm, still, cloudless days--like midsummer,
only of course colder. Not very often, it is true, but occasionally.

"I was walking on one such day till I came to what had been the private
road leading to a gentleman's house. The house itself was old and
uninhabited, and the way to it was open. I walked along, and the trees
on either side of it were bare, sparkling with frost and looking like
other trees outside. Presently I came to a bend in the road, and saw
that on both sides the space was planted with evergreen shrubs and
trees, and some of the trees were very tall. There were evergreen oaks,
and pines, and firs, and plenty of the large-leaved ivy. It seemed as if
I had walked from midwinter into midsummer. The bright sun was shining,
the air was still, the sky a cloudless blue, and all the trees were