, until you could hardly see
its dry hot sands, for the flowery carpet that was drawn over them.

Poor Kuhn! he was often in danger. Never yet had he crossed the border;
but it is a sad thing to go near temptation; and so this unhappy child
found to his cost.

One day he was sauntering close to the forbidden border, when the hoop
which he was trundling slipped from him and ran into the desert. In a
moment he was over after it; and just as he stooped to pick it up, he
saw, right before him, a beautiful and sparkling flower. He would
certainly have gone after it, but that at the instant he caught the eye
of Glaube looking sadly after him, and it struck upon his heart, and he
hastened back, and was safe. For a while his legs trembled under him,
and Zart looked up quite frightened into his pale face; Glaube too could
scarcely speak to him; and it was long before they were laughing merrily
again under the tall palm-trees of the garden. But by the next day all
Kuhn's fears had flown away, and he went with a bolder foot than ever to
the very edge of the desert.

{The Little Wanderers: p98.jpg}

Glaube was further off than usual; and just as Kuhn and Zart were in this
great danger, a beautiful bird started up under their feet. The boys had
never seen such a bird. All the colours of the rainbow shone upon his
feathers, and his black and scarlet head seemed quite to sparkle in the
sunshine. It tried to fly; but whether its wing was hurt, or what, I
know not, but it could not rise, and ran before them flapping its painted
wings, screaming with a harsh voice, and keeping only just before them.
The boys were soon in full chase, and every thing else was forgotten;
when, just as they thought the bird was their own, he fluttered across
the border, and both the boys followed him,--Kuhn boldly and without
thought, for he had been across it before; but poor little Zart trembled
and turned pale, and clung to his bolder brother, as if he never would
have crossed it alone.

Once over, however, on they went, and the bird still seemed to keep close
before them; and they never noticed how far they were getting from the
garden, until suddenly they heard a dreadful noise; the air looked thick
before them, as if whole clouds of dust were sweeping on; shining spear-
heads were all they could see in the midst of the dust; and they heard
the trampling of a multitude of horses. The boys were too much
frightened to shriek, but they clung