Evening star., 1942-01-28
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS.

ny 1nONN lON w. 0Un1ESSs
Would you be sure that .spring. is herea
Thsn sp.ss seek hs the Smiling PGg my dear
You'll know that SPRING has come to stay.
Everybody who lives on the Green
Meadows knows that. You see, 1t
sometimes happens that Mistress
Spring arrives and then has to go
back for a few days. Usually 1t is
because she has been in such a
hurry to reach the Green Forest
and the Green Meadows that she
has trodden on the heels of. grim,
hard, fierce-tempered Master Win
ter. Now, no one likes to have his
heels trodden on, least of all Master
Winter, and when this happens he
promptly sends rough Brother North
Wind and sometimes Jack Frost to
show that he is not so far away but
that he can make things very un-
comfortable for everybody.
So when this happens gentle Mis-
tress Spring just has to run away.
There is nothing else for her to do.
OF course she knows when she is
in danger of treading on the heels
Of Master Winter, and so she Is care
full to waken only those whom she
knows can stand the pinching of
Jack Frost If he returns. The 9TH
ers she doesn't waken until she is
sure that she will not have to GO
back even for a few days. And
among these are the Hylas, who
spend the winter in the mud at the
bottom Of the Smiling Pool. The
Hylas, you know, are the children
and grandchildren of Sticky-toes the
Tree Toad.
So it is that the little people of
the Green Meadows listen almost as
eagerly for the voice of the first
Hylas as they do for the first whis-
tie of Winsome Bluebird. Winsome
tells them that Mistress Spring will
soon arrive. Little Friend the Song
Sparrow tells them that she has ar
rived. The Hylas tell she is going
to stay. So it was that as soon as
Peter Rabbit hurried about greet
ing all his old friends who had just
come up from the far-away south
and those other friends who had
just wakened from long, long
sleep, he was forever stopping to
listen for voices from the Smiling
Pool. Peter was very happy. 1t
was so good to know that Mistress
Spring had really arrived, and 1t
was such fun to visit his old friends
and tell them all the news. Every
where on the Green Meadows and
in the Green Forest he heard voices,
happy voices, which were good to
hear. But as yet he had heard no
voices from the Smiling Pool, and
so he was afraid, just little bit
afraid, that Mistress Spring had
not come to stay.
He was thinking Of this one eve
ming as he sat just at the edge Of
the dear Old Briar Patch looking
over to the Purple Hills behind
which jolly, round, red Mr.. Sun had
just gone to bed. 1t was very still.
for WinSome Bluebird, the Cheer
full Robin and Little Friend and
Song Sparrow, who always 60 to
bed when jolly, round Mr.. Sun does,
had tucked their heads under their
wings and their sweet voices were
silent. Suddenly a clear, piping
voice sounded. Pretty soon another
joined it and then another and an
other. They seemed to come from
the Smiling Pool.
Peter jumped straight up in the
air and kicked his heels together.
"Hurrah!" he shouted. Then looking
this way and looking that way to
be sure that the way was clear and
that Granny and Reddy Fox and
Old Man Coyote were nowhere
about, ne started for the Smiling
Pool as fast as he could go. hpperty-
lipperty-lipl The nearer he got to
the Smiling Pool the louder sound
ed the piping voices. When he
reached the Smiling Pool and
peered over the bank there was no
one to be seen but Jerry MuSkrat.
Jerry was sitting on top of his house
listening and smiling, and from all
around right out Of the water came
those clear, piping voices. 1t
seemed as If the Smiling Pool itself
was singing. Jerry looked over at
Peter and his eyes twinkled as he
cried:
Mistress Spring has come TO stay;
This is what the Hylas say