squirrels, established intimacies with
chipmunks, and was on some sort of
civil relation with blackbirds. And,
oh, the tossing green of the young wil-
lows, where the lilac distance melted
into the pale blue of the sky! And, oh,
the budding of the maples and the fring-
ing of the oaks; and, oh, the blossom-
ing of the tulip trees and the garner-
ing of the chestnuts! And then, the
wriggling things in the grass; the pro-
cession of ants; the coquetries of the
robins; and the Beyond, deepening,
deepening into the forest where it was
safe only for the woodsmen to go.

On this particular Sunday one of us
was requested not to squeal and run
about, and to remember that we wore
our best shoes and need not mess them
unnecessarily. It was hard to be re-
minded just when the dance was getting
into my feet, but I tried to have Sun-
day manners, and went along in the still
woods, wondering why the purple col-
ours disappeared as we came on and
what had been distance became near-
ness. There was a beautiful, aching
vagueness over everything, and it was
not strange that father, who had