ite a
clamour in their impatience to get at me. The monkeys, of course,
contributed their share to the general uproar, though they seemed more
inclined to fasten their eyes on the filberts and almonds with which I
was garnished. The eagles took the whole thing very seriously and,
flapping their great wings, screeched to the sky in their eagerness to
begin; and all the other guests, the giraffes, the zebras, the hippos,
the storks, the flamingoes, the wild cats, the pelicans, the wild geese,
the peacocks, the turkeys, and every thinkable animal contributing to
the general noise, there was such an awful din that the snake could only
obtain silence by using the thin end of his long body as a flail on the
drum-like sides of the elephant. He then made a few remarks on the
importance of the occasion, and referred to his wife in quite a graceful
way, for a snake; and, continuing, asked one of the guests to volunteer
to carve. The stork, having a very convenient beak for the purpose,
stood up and offered his services, which were gratefully accepted.

'I was now placed on the grass directly in front of the carver, who was
about to skewer me with his long and sharp beak, when there came to our
ears from far away amongst the trees that surrounded us on every side,
the sweet harmonies of that lovely song "The Pond where Herbert
Drownded," played with the greatest sympathy on the concertina. At once
the stork turned its head in the direction whence the sound proceeded,
and as it gradually drew nearer and nearer I became more and more
convinced that such music could only be produced by my friend and
foster-brother.

'All the creatures in varying degrees were affected; the snake and his
wife coiled themselves on the grass and gasped in rapture; the stork and
all the birds closed their eyes, and their heads sank lower and lower
into their fluffy bodies, until like balls of feathers they rolled over
and lay trembling in the grass.

[Illustration: SWEEPING THE DEAD LEAVES]

'The lion and tiger were so overcome that they leant their old heads on
their paws and sobbed aloud, while the monkeys grew fidgety and quite
self-conscious at first, and then abandoned themselves to the melancholy
aroused by the music.

'The gnome, whom I afterwards learnt had been wandering about the wood
playing mournful airs on his concertina ever since he had missed me, now
drew near, and finishing "The Pond where Herbert Drownded" proceeded
with "Poor Moll