to maintain her hold.

'The branch will break!' cried Serge, thoroughly frightened.

'Let it break,' she answered, with a laugh; 'it will save me the trouble
of getting down.'

And the branch did break, but only slowly, with such deliberation that,
as it gradually settled towards the ground, it let Albine slip down in
very gentle fashion. She did not appear in the least degree frightened;
but gave herself a shake, and said: 'That was really nice. It was quite
like being in a carriage.'

Serge had jumped down from the tree to catch her in his arms. As he
stood there, quite pale from fright, she laughed at him. 'One tumbles
down from trees every day,' she exclaimed, 'but there is never any harm
done. Look more cheerful, you great stupid! Stay, just wet your finger
and rub it upon my neck. I have scratched it.'

Serge wetted his finger and touched her neck with it.

'There, I am all right again now,' she cried, as she bounded off. 'Let
us play at hide and seek, shall we?'

She was the first to hide. She disappeared, and presently from the
depths of the greenery, which she alone knew, and where Serge could not
possibly find her, she called, 'Cuckoo, cuckoo.' But this game of hide
and seek did not put a stop to the onslaught upon the fruit trees.
Breakfasting went on in all the nooks and corners where the two big
children sought each other. Albine, while gliding beneath the branches,
would stretch out her hand to pluck a green pear or fill her skirt with
apricots. Then in some of her lurking-places she would come upon such
rich discoveries as would make her careless of the game, content to
sit upon the ground and remain eating. Once, however, she lost sound of
Serge's movements. So, in her turn, she set about seeking him; and she
was surprised, almost vexed, when she discovered him under a plum-tree,
of whose existence she herself had been ignorant, and whose ripe fruit
had a delicious musky perfume. She soundly rated him. Did he want to eat
everything himself, that he hadn't called to her to come? He pretended
to know nothing about the trees, but he evidently had a very keen scent
to be able to find all the good things. She was especially indignant
with the poor tree itself--a stupid tree which no one had known of, and
which must have sprung up in the night on purpose to put people out. As
she stood there pouting, refusing to pluck a single plum, it occurred to
Serge to shake the tree violently. And then a shower,