At first, as you wander through the woods, they seem utterly silent. Then the woodlands and the meadows are truly beautiful. Then you will learn that they are peopled with wild creatures which are abroad at night. Their tracks are your only clew to their secret lives and doings. Fantastic stitchings on the coverlet of snow, and holes to their tunnels underneath, tell of the travels of meadow mice and the hungry shrews that prey upon them.
Squirrels come down their den trees and hop about, digging up acorns.
Tracks show where the rabbits played together, where they nibbled the tender bark of shrubs, or perhaps where one was chased by a fox or a hunting dog. If it was a fox, his tracks are more pointed and more nearly in a straight line than those of a dog. In the meadows you may see birds feeding upon the seeds of weeds that stand above the snow. The snow itself is white but, being a myriad of crystals, it reflects the colors of the sky. The crystals themselves, under a magnifying glass, are symmetrical six-sided jewels and there are no two alike.