h during their dinner. After it was over she
helped him to walk about a little, but he was not able for much and soon
got tired. He did not get fretful, though. He was too glad of having the
sun and the wind again, to fret because he could not run about. He lay
down on the dry sand, and his mother covered him with a shawl. She then
sat by his side, and took a bit of work from her pocket. But Diamond
felt rather sleepy, and turned on his side and gazed sleepily over the
sand. A few yards off he saw something fluttering.

"What is that, mother?" he said.

"Only a bit of paper," she answered.

"It flutters more than a bit of paper would, I think," said Diamond.

"I'll go and see if you like," said his mother. "My eyes are none of the
best."

So she rose and went and found that they were both right, for it was a
little book, partly buried in the sand. But several of its leaves were
clear of the sand, and these the wind kept blowing about in a very
flutterful manner. She took it up and brought it to Diamond.

"What is it, mother?" he asked.

"Some nursery rhymes, I think," she answered.

"I'm too sleepy," said Diamond. "Do read some of them to me."

"Yes, I will," she said, and began one.--"But this is such nonsense!"
she said again. "I will try to find a better one."

She turned the leaves searching, but three times, with sudden puffs, the
wind blew the leaves rustling back to the same verses.

"Do read that one," said Diamond, who seemed to be of the same mind as
the wind. "It sounded very nice. I am sure it is a good one."

So his mother thought it might amuse him, though she couldn't find any
sense in it. She never thought he might understand it, although she
could not.

Now I do not exactly know what the mother read, but this is what Diamond
heard, or thought afterwards that he had heard. He was, however, as I
have said, very sleepy. And when he thought he understood the verses he
may have been only dreaming better ones. This is how they went--

I know a river whose waters run asleep run run ever singing in the
shallows dumb in the hollows sleeping so deep and all the swallows that
dip their feathers in the hollows or in the shallows are the merriest
swallows of all for the nests they bake with the clay they cake with
the water they shake from their wings that rake the water out of the
shallows or the hollows will hold together in any weather and so the
swallows are the merriest fellows and have the merr