Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

Two Festivals by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen
page 39 of 44 (88%)
Miss Puss was purring her satisfaction at her happy lot. An older
girl was assisting her mother, who was employed at some needlework.
The oldest boy was getting his lesson. The youngest was sitting on
his father's knee. "How the wind roars!" said little Robert, as a
tremendous blast came swelling and moaning over the fields and
rushed against their dwelling, which, saving one old elm tree that
bent its protecting branches over it, stood all alone, exposed to
the shock of the wind against it. "Shan't we blow over, Father?"
said the child. "No, dear; we have stood higher winds than this."
"Now it dies away," said Helen, as, for a moment, she stopped
caressing her favorite. "The storm is taking breath," said Ned; "now
you can hear it a great way off; it sounds like a troop of horse
galloping up--now it comes nearer and nearer. Hurrah! there it comes
again! hurrah! Hear the poor old elm creak and groan, and hear the
icicles rattling down. I hope none of the branches will break, but I
am afraid the ice is too heavy for them." "Think of poor old Fanny
to-night," said Julia, the elder girl, "in her little cottage, and
the walls so thin. Mother, what will she do?" "Her house is so small
that the wind seems to pass her by," said the mother, "and, when it
is so cold as it is to-night, the poor soul goes to bed, and lies
there till it is warmer. Many a time, I have found her in bed in the
morning, and given her some breakfast, and advised her to lie there
till she could get up with comfort." "It is so still now," said
Robert, "that I can hear the flakes of snow on the window panes."
"And so do I," said little Helen, "and the wind seems to say, Hush!
hush!" "I should not think you could hear any thing while Puss is
purring so loud in your ears," replied Ned. "Do put her out of the
room; I would rather hear the loudest wind that ever blew than hear
a cat purr, purr, purr so forever; it makes my head spin to hear it;
hush, Puss! stop purring." Puss purred on all the same, for Ned's
DigitalOcean Referral Badge