H RABBITS AS BIG AS HORSES."]

[Illustration: "--TO BE CHATTERED AT BY SQUIRRELS A HEAD TALLER THAN SHE
HERSELF WAS."]

Presently she heard a voice singing. It seemed to come from a thick
part of the wood at one side of the path; and, after hesitating a
moment, Dorothy stole into the bushes, and, creeping cautiously along
until she was quite near the sound, crouched down in the thicket to
listen.

It was a very small voice, and it was singing this song:

I know a way
Of hearing what the larks and linnets say.
The larks tell of the sunshine and the sky;
The linnets from the hedges make reply,
And boast of hidden nests with mocking lay.

I know a way
Of keeping near the rabbits at their play.
They tell me of the cool and shady nooks
Where waterfalls disturb the placid brooks
That I may go and frolic in the spray.

I know a way
Of catching dewdrops on a night in May,
And threading them upon a spear of green,
That through their sides translucent may be seen
The sparkling hue that emeralds display.

I know a way
Of trapping sunbeams as they nimbly play
At hide-and-seek with meadow-grass and flowers,
And holding them in store for dreary hours
When winds are chill and all the sky is gray.

I know a way
Of stealing fragrance from the new-mown hay
And storing it in flasks of petals made,
To scent the air when all the flowers fade
And leave the woodland world to sad decay.

I know a way
Of coaxing snowflakes in their flight to stay
So still awhile, that, as they hang in air,
I weave them into frosty lace, to wear
About my head upon a sultry day.

Dorothy, crouching down in the thicket, listened to this little song
with great delight; but she was extremely sentimental where poetry was
concerned, and it happened that when she heard this last verse she
clasped her hands in a burst of rapture and exclaimed in quite a loud
voice, "Oh, delicious!" This was very unfortunate, for the song stopped
short the instant she spoke, and for a moment everything was perfectly
silent; then the little voice spoke up again, and said, "Who is that?"

"It's I," said Dorothy.

"It's two eyes, if it comes to that," said the little voice; "I can see
them through the bushes. Are you a rabbit?"

"