his brother 'April Fool!'
And played him April tricks?

"Wonder if he shed his shirt
Down beneath the beeches,
Kicked his buckled slippers off,
And his buckled breeches,
Jumped into the swimming-pool,
And gave a splendid shout,
Glad and wiggly, clean and cool,
Splashing like a trout?

"Wonder did he sit in school,
And try to work a sum,
With bumblebees all mumbling,
'Summer's come, summer's come!'
If he used to count the days,
And give a sort of sigh,
Because--how queer!--there couldn't be
A Fourth in his July!

"Wonder if he ever took
His history and read
Tales of mighty generals,
Glorious and dead;
Turned the leaves and wished that he
Could be a hero, too?
Wonder if George Washington
Felt the way we do?"

MARCH

_III_

_MARCH_

[Illustration: _Aries_]

The March house, strangely, was built in a tree,
With a fluttering roof of leaves,
And strong, straight boughs for the walls of the house,
And an apple or two in the eaves.
A pair of fun-loving twins lived there,
Who romped on the roof all day,
And flew great kites when the weather was fair,
In a most remarkable way.

[Illustration: _The March house, strangely, was built in a tree_]

Amos and Ann were very curious to know why the twins lived in a tree.

"Well, it saves time," the black-haired twin explained. "There are one or
two days in the year when we're bound to be up here anyhow."

The children looked puzzled.

"You see," said the yellow-haired twin, "we never have the slightest idea
how March is going to come in. If he comes in like a lion--"

"Then, of course, you want to be out of the way," interrupted Ann,
delighted with herself for knowing.

"Exactly," said the twin. "And if he comes in like a lamb, then we know
how he's going out, of course. So we simply get up here and stay. Listen
to our song."

Then they sang in duet:

"When March comes in roaring, growling,
Winds swoop over the hilltop howling;
Bushes toss in the lashing gale,
Right and left, like a lion's tail;
Branches shake in the road and lane,
Tawny and wild, like a lion's mane.
Fierce and furious, he--
But he's going out like a lamb;
You watch and see!

"When March comes in gentle, easy,
Waggy and warm and mild and breezy,