St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-06-14
The Babes in the Wood.

1t was during the last days of NOvem-
Der. that three little children. tempted
by the mildmesS of the MONDAY, begged
their mother to let them go a-nutting
III the big wood.
The oldest child was nine. and the
Youngest five Years ofagc but the busy
mother WAS used to having them out of
her sight, and the wood on the borders
of which stood their little clearing and
tiny log cabin, WAS the chiIdren'S favor
itc play ground.
The good woman gave Il ready con-
sent, and left her work to kiss them.
and to lingcr at the door until they en-
tered the wood. "Good-bNc. mother.
go"d-hAe" and the echoes from the
purple hills behind the cabin hoated
drcamily back through the golden sun
shine to the mothers ears with triple
repetition of the last words good-bye
each growing fainter AZ the little
forms melted away like shadows in the
density of the pines. whose feet We're
cnNeloptd i'll tangled underhruSh, and
whose lofty tops sighed back to the
hills their mockimg Iefrar.
Nellie led the way. and Johnny and
Willie trudgcd >turdill after her. chad
III little rough .jackctS. made out of
fathers old coat. their caps pushed back
on their curly patrS. and their new
wonderful rcd-t"pped hrlSS-tocd boots
on their short legs. into which Il few
inches of trnw>ers had been tucked. i'll
imitation of fathers style of dress.
\cllIcs bright red hood and warm
jacket looked very pretty III the gloom
of the wood. and We're Il good guide for
the little h"NS. who painted after her aS
she fitted before them. and she perch
ed on the trunk of Il pine laid prnStr;lte
10y deccaN. calling ont To them To come
ON, and 10y the time they had reached
the same elevation. she was of beyond:
standing on an old stump, listening
thoughtfulll to the spirit voices rushing
through the restless green branches
over her head. Frequently the little
bows We're caught in some trap. from
which Nellie would laughiugIy Rescue
them. and setting them up steadily up
on their short legs and popping Il berry
oI winter green int" their mouths. she
was off again lis light and wayward as
Il bird in her motions. The wild grape
vines laced from tree To tree. made nat
ural swings for them. i'll which they
swung while they rested. Bright moss
cs of velvet SottneSS. covering stones
or decay ing wood. were treasures to he
scrambled for. and discarded for cones
or occasional acorns. and thus they
were tempted on and on deeper in the
rcccS>cs of the forest than they had
ever been before. The long vist;iS
opening on every side. dim and my ste
rious i'll their half lights. seemed to af-
ford il hundred paths 10y which they
could return when they desired to do
81 and with fearless confidence thcN
roamcd on till they reached Il little
glade. where Il quantity of golden cones
lay Strcwm on the slippery ground. car
petcd thrklN with brown pine needles.
The cones had been visited 10y Jack
Frost already. and their wooden leaf
lets We're spread open and empted of
their TINY winged seeds. so dcttll pack
ed in their cells. and which had gone
forth to SOW themselves i'll distant pla
ccs. But Il little heap of cones. strip
ped neatly of even their leaflets, he
tlaNcd the presence of squirrels. which
are very fond of the seeds. and with
their sharp teeth cut off the protecting
doors of the cells and take pus>eSsion of
the inmates. before the magician Jack
arrives to summon them forth with Il
tap nf his magic wand. Here the chill
drcn sat down to rest. and Ia watch tor
the squirrels. whose chrr-chcc they
heard above their heads.
They gathered the cones and played
awhile with them. but no squirrels ap-
prared to reward them for their wait
ing The dim light grew DINNER. for
the sun WAS setting, and all at once
Nellie remembered that they had Vet to
90 home. and she started her little
brother to their feet.
But they had wandered very far. and
both spirit and flesh were unwilling to
make even moderate haste The lit
tie rcd-t"ppcd boots had grown very
heavy. and they stumbled trettully
along. dragging on Nellie. CRYING and
mourning for mother and something to
eat. till poor Ncllie's patience WAS near
" exhausted. In vain She wiped their
eyes and sympathetic noses, with her
little apron. In vain she told wonder
fIl stories. sang little scraps of songs.
or pretended to run away from them,
to tempt them along faster. They
Whimpercd and Sohhed, and when they
fell down. they lay until she picked
them up: or when she ran on before
them. stood still and ronrtd Justify till
She came back and shook them. and
then kissed them pelsistently. She had
got them along some distance. when
they came upon another glade. it seem
ed to her, and she let them sit down to
rest little. They laid their curly
L.. i,,l l,..,. I,,, .,t,l h..t,,r, IL.
it. were sound asleep. Half conscious
of the uSeleSSneSS OF trying to awake
them. the little girl sat looking around.
thinking to herself that the place look
ed very familiar. There was Il heap of
cones lying on an old stump, which Ger
tainly johnny had put there And Il
heap of dry leaves i'll another spot
which Willie had collected for ii nest,
putting stones i'll it for eggs. which he
pretended to hatch. BY degrees the
wonder deepened into certainty they
were in the same glade, and no nearer
home than they were an hour ago. The
little girl was puzzled, but her youth
prevented her from understanding the
danger they were in.
Tired herself, with her shoulders and
arms aching from the effort and strain
of holding up the stumbling boys, she
rested her head back against the rough
bark of an old pine tree, and sank into
profound slumber. The shadows
deepened. A chill crept through the
lofty aisles damp odors arose from de-
caying wood and mouldering leaves.
The outlines of the bushes and the
trunks of the trees became vague, and
still the sleepers slumbered on. Once
IA stray moonbeam penetrated the thick
green canopy above them, and glided
staringly down to linger few moments
over the little group. The sisters arms