and whom the linnet could not fly to, but who
had heard the bell-flower's plaints:

"I shine as I must and not as I please; and I cannot help you. I am
bound to go my course round another sun, who is a thousand times larger
and better than I. I cannot swerve a foot's breadth from my road; I
cannot send down a single ray according to my own wishes."

"I don't understand it," said the hazel-bush.

"I don't understand it either," said the sun. "But I _do_ it."

"And I understand that it is all up with a poor sheep's-scabious," said
the sheep's-scabious and died then and there.

3

Then night came and all thought that it would be their last.

But, suddenly, the bell-flower raised her aching head and listened.

She thought she heard a sound as when a drop falls ... now came another
... it smacked down upon a leaf ... and another ... and another....

They all woke up, while the rain poured in torrents.

The poor blades of grass stood up, the unhappy moss took fresh courage.
The linnet began to sing, though it was a dark night. The hazel-bush
shook with delight, until he nearly shook the linnet's young out of the
nest.

[Illustration]

Everything round about in the wood revived. The night was full of
happiness. The ranger and the farmer rose from their beds and met in the
rain and shook each other by the hand with glad eyes.

It rained the whole night and the day after and the next night and one
day more. Sometimes it rained gently and sometimes hard. The ground
drank all the water with a thirsty mouth and the roots sucked it
greedily out of the ground and leaves and flowers unfolded and stood
erect and blithe on slender stalks.

Then came the third day, with sunshine and a blue sky and life and
merriment in the wood.

"Well," said the wind and came darting along as though he had never been
tired in his life, "do you see, I brought you the rain?"

"Well," said the cloud, who drifted high above, in a light, white summer
suit, "did you see how I came with the rain?"

"Well," said the sun and laughed, rounder and warmer than ever, "so you
got what you asked me for!"

The friends looked at one another in surprise. But, a little way off,
sat the red fox, with his ugly, clever face:

"That's the sort of people they are," he said. "When you ask them for
something, they're not at home. But they never forget to call for
thanks!"

[Illustration]

[Illustration: THE COUSINS]

A STORY OF THE HOUSE-MOUSE