was a little white patch that showed under her tail; that was for Raggy to
follow,--he followed it now.

Far, far away she led him, through the long grass, to a place where the
big snake could not find him, and there she made a new nest. And this
time, when she told Raggylug to lie low you'd better believe he minded!


THE GOLDEN COBWEBS[1]

A STORY TO TELL BY THE CHRISTMAS TREE

[Footnote 1: This story was told me in the mother-tongue of a German
friend, at the kindly instance of a common friend of both; the narrator
had heard it at home from the lips of a father of story-loving children
for whom he often invented such little tales. The present adaptation has
passed by hearsay through so many minds that it is perhaps little like the
original, but I venture to hope it has a touch of the original fancy, at
least.]

I am going to tell you a story about something wonderful that happened to
a Christmas Tree like this, ever and ever so long ago, when it was once
upon a time.

It was before Christmas, and the tree was trimmed with bright spangled
threads and many-coloured candles and (name the trimmings of the tree
before you), and it stood safely out of sight in a room where the doors
were locked, so that the children should not see it before the proper
time. But ever so many other little house-people had seen it. The big
black pussy saw it with her great green eyes; the little grey kitty saw it