strong, so that when we no longer have the crystal globe, we can walk
in field and wood, and along our streets, and see, wondering, the
beauty of the world in which we live.





PART I

NATURE--HUMOR--HOME AND COUNTRY

Better--a thousand times better--than all the material wealth the
world can give is the love for the best books.




THE WORLD OF NATURE

A FORWARD LOOK


If we have eyes to see, the world of Nature is a fairyland. Further
on in this book you will read how Aladdin--a boy who was led by a
magician to a cave in which were all kinds of wonderful objects--came
upon a garden underground wherein grew trees filled with extraordinary
fruit. "Each tree bore fruit of a different color," we are told: "The
white were pearls; the sparkling were diamonds; the deep red were
rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises."