oist and boggy from the spring
rains, was clothed with a carpet of dog violets, growing in such
profusion that they seemed to stretch in a vista of palest mauve into
the distance. At close intervals among these grew glorious clumps of
golden cowslips and purple meadow orchis, taller and finer by far than
those in the meadows, and deliciously fragrant. In the swampy hollows
were yellow marsh marigolds and blue forget-me-nots; on the drier soil
of the rising bank the wild hyacinths were just shaking open their
bells, and heartsease here and there lifted coy heads to the
sunlight.

Raymonde and Fauvette wandered about in ecstasy, picking great bunches
of the flowers, and running from clump to clump with thrills of
delight. Surely even Freckles's "Limberlost" could not be more
beautiful than this. A persistent cuckoo was calling in the meadow
close by; a thrush with his brown throat all a-ruffle trilled in a
birch tree overhead, and a blackbird warbled his heart out among the
hazel bushes by the fence. The girls went peeping here and there and
everywhere in quest of birds' nests, and their diligent search was
amply rewarded. In the hollow of a decaying stump a robin was feeding
five little gaping mouths, the blackbird's mate guarded four speckled
eggs, and three separate thrushes had pale-blue treasures in
clay-lined cradles amidst the undergrowth.

As they penetrated farther into the wood they struck upon a pond
closely surrounded by sallows and alders. Raymonde peered through the
shimmering leaves, and called Fauvette with a cry of joy, for covering
almost the entire surface of the water was a mass of the gorgeous
pale-pink fringed blossoms of the bog bean. The girls had never found
it before, and it was indeed rare for it to be growing in a Midland
county. They thought it was the most beautiful flower they had ever
seen. How to pick any was the difficulty, for even the nearest piece
lay fully a yard from the edge of the pond, and the finest blooms were
in the middle of the water.

"I'm going to get some somehow, if I have to take off my shoes and
stockings!" declared Raymonde.

An easier way than wading, however, presented itself. Close by the
side of the pond was a young tree which had been blown over by the
spring gales; the forester had chopped it from its roots, but had not
yet removed it. By dint of much energy the girls lifted this, and
pushed it over the water till part of it rested securely on an alder
whic