d you and I like your orchard's grandmother," said I.

S. O. J.

ROUGH.

He was a donkey, and we called him Rough. He belonged to Gerald and
me. We didn't keep him for his useful qualities, and we certainly
didn't keep him for his moral qualities; and I don't know what we did
keep him for, unless, for the best reason in the world, that we loved
him.

He was always getting us into scrapes, the most renowned of which was
one Rough's enemies were fond of alluding to.

We were bidden to a christening one fair spring morning; and we not
only accepted the invitation, but promised to bring apple-blossoms, to
fill the font and make the church look gay. We had an old apple
orchard, that bore beautiful blossoms, but worthless fruit; and of
these blossoms we had leave to pick as many as we chose.

So we filled the donkey-cart with them, and set forth for the
christening, which was to be at a little church about a mile or more
distant from our farm. Rough's enemies will tell how we arrived when
the christening was all over, and our apple blossoms faded.

We were never so happy as when we had a whole leisure afternoon to go
off with Rough in the donkey-cart, and our little sister Daisy by
Gerald's side, on the board that served as seat, and I lying on my
back on the bottom of the cart, with my heels dangling out of it. So I
would lie for hours, whistling and looking up at the drifting clouds,
or with my hat over my eyes to keep out the sun.

One afternoon, early in March, when the roads were almost knee deep in
mud, and the last of the melting snow made a running stream on either
side of the road, we were slowly travelling along after the manner I
have described. We were going to take a longing look at the skating
pond, two miles from our farm. We were forbidden to try the dangerous
ice, but meant only to look upon the scene of our winter's delight.

"Some one's in the pond!" cried Daisy.

"How do ye know?" said I, not removing my hat from my face.

You see Daisy was only six years old, and I hadn't much faith in her
observation.

"Cos I sees 'em with my own eyes."

I jumped up and looked. It was only a hat I saw. Gerald meanwhile
said nothing, but had pulled up Rough (who not only stopped, but lay
down in the mud), and looked. I watched him, to see what he thought,
or proposed to do.

[Illustration: {A child collecting flowers together}]

People had a wa