RECONCILIATION ON THE
NUTFIELD.--THREATENING DANGER TO THE
ROOTMEN.--EMIGRATION OF THE ROOTMEN.

At the time when all these wonderful occurrences happened, there
lived at the entrance of this forest an old Birdcatcher and his
family. During the two years since he had settled here, his
business had prospered remarkably; and, especially in the Spring
and Autumn, so many birds had been taken in his nets, that he had
earned many a bright dollar, and had laid by many a spare penny.

Now once on a Spring day a heavy rain had fallen, and, strange to
say, ever since that time not a bird was longer to be seen there:
every morning the Birdcatcher found his nets torn, his limed twigs
destroyed, and even his screech-owl and other decoy-birds had
vanished from their cages and perches. And yet he knew well enough
there lived no other man in the whole forest who could have done
all this.

One day he had sent his children with the cart deep into the
forest, to fetch brushwood. Evening came on, and they did not
return. It already began to grow dark, and as they still had not
come back, his anxiety increased, and he determined to go in search
of them. He had just crossed the threshold, when suddenly he heard
a shouting and singing at a distance in the wood. Joyous sounds! it
was his dear children, who were dragging and pushing along the
little cart, piled up and closely packed.

"You good-for-nothing little brats, where have you been all this
time?" he exclaimed, half angrily, though overjoyed. But they
laughed, and removing the green brushwood with which they had
covered the loaded cart, they exclaimed, quite red in the face with
delight, "Only see, father, what we have here!" And, lo and behold,
the cart was filled from top to bottom with broken, bent, and
gnaw'd playthings!

And now they went on to tell the whole story of their treasures;
and amidst a Babel of voices, all speaking together, one louder
than another, the sum and substance of the story was this. After
losing their way, they had wandered about till they came to a
narrow, smooth dale, which lost itself like a footpath in the wood.
The ground was all wet and miry from the rain. Suddenly, to their
amazement, they found all these splendid things scattered about in
radiant confusion; and, had not the sun already sunk behind the
pine-trees, they would have followed the path still further. It
seemed to have no end, but disappeared deep in the thicket, a