e Tulip.

"It's the Sunshine," said a little, soft, cheery voice, "and I want to
come in!"

"N--no," said the little Tulip, "you can't come in." And she sat still
again.

Pretty soon she heard the sweet little rustling noise at the keyhole.

"Who is there?" she said.

"It's the Sunshine," said the cheery little voice, "and I want to come
in, I want to come in!"

"No, no," said the little Tulip, "you cannot come in."

By and by, as she sat so still, she heard _tap, tap, tap_, and _rustle,
whisper, rustle_, up and down the window-pane, and on the door and at
the keyhole.

"_Who is there?_" she said.

"It's the Rain and the Sun, the Rain and the Sun," said two little
voices, together, "and we want to come in! We want to come in! We want
to come in!"

"Dear, dear!" said the little Tulip, "if there are two of you, I s'pose
I shall have to let you in."

So she opened the door a little wee crack, and in they came. And one
took one of her little hands, and the other took her other little hand,
and they ran, ran, ran with her right up to the top of the ground. Then
they said,--

"Poke your head through!"

So she poked her head through; and she was in the midst of a beautiful
garden. It was early springtime, and few other flowers were to be seen;
but she had the birds to sing to her and the sun to shine upon her
pretty yellow head. She was so pleased, too, when the children exclaimed
with pleasure that now they knew that the beautiful spring had come!

FOOTNOTES:

[8] These riddles were taken from the Gaelic, and are charming examples
of the naive beauty of the old Irish, and of Dr Hyde's accurate and
sympathetic modern rendering. From _Beside the Fire_ (David Nutt).

THE COCK-A-DOO-DLE-DOO[9]

A very little boy made this story up "out of his head," and told it to
his papa. I think you littlest ones will like it; I do.

Once upon a time there was a little boy, and he wanted to be a
cock-a-doo-dle-doo. So he was a cock-a-doo-dle-doo. And he wanted to fly
up into the sky. So he did fly up into the sky. And he wanted to get
wings and a tail So he did get some wings and a tail.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] From _The Ignominy of being Grown Up_, by Dr. Samuel M. Crothers, in
the _Atlantic Monthly_ for July 1906.

THE CLOUD[10]

One hot summer morning a little Cloud rose out of the sea and floated
lightly and happily across the blue sky. Far below lay the earth, brown,
dry, and desolate, from drought. T