Mr. Norton made
himself into a tiger, with a tiger-skin in the hall, that Uncle Richard
had brought home from India, and Olly shot him all over with a
walking-stick from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. When they
were tired of this, mother set them to play hide-and-seek, and Milly hid
herself in such out-of-the-way cupboards, and squeezed herself into such
small corners, that mother said she was like a needle in a bundle of
hay--there was no finding her.

Seven o'clock came before they had time to think about it, and the
children went chattering and skipping up to bed, though on fine evenings
they had been staying up much later. How the rain did rattle on the
window while they were undressing.

"Oh, you tiresome rain," said Milly, standing by the window in her
nightdress, and gazing up into the sky. "Where does it all come from, I
wonder? Won't it be wet to-morrow, Nana? and oh, what is that roaring
over there?"

"That's the beck," said nurse, who was brushing Olly's hair, and trying
hard to make him stand still for two minutes.

"The beck! why, what's the matter with it?"

"It's the rain has made it so full I suppose," said nurse. "To-morrow,
gardener says, it'll be over the lawn if the rain goes on."

"Oh, but it mustn't go on," said Milly. "Now, rain, dear rain, good
rain, do go away to-night, right away up into the mountains. There's
plenty of room for you up there, and down here we don't want you a bit.
So do be polite and go away."

But the rain didn't see any good reason for going away, in spite of
Milly's pretty speeches, and next morning there was the same patter on
the window, the same gray sky and dripping garden. After breakfast there
was just a hope of its clearing up. For about an hour the rain seemed to
get less and the clouds a little brighter. But it soon came on again as
fast as ever, and the poor children were very much disappointed.

"Mother," said Milly, when they had settled down to their lessons again
in the drawing-room, "when we get back to Willingham, do you know what I
shall do?"

"No, Milly."

"I shall ask you to take me to see that old gentleman--you know who I
mean--who told you about the rain. And I shall say to him, 'please, Mr.
Old Gentleman, at first I thought you were quite wrong about the rain,
but afterwards I thought you were quite right, and it does rain
dreadfully much in the mountains.'"

"Very well, Milly. But you have only just had a taste of what the