4 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
and silver popple leaves were all mixed together,” said 
Sarah, moving her hands before her, a little way she had 
when talking, as if in describing what she had seen she 
was touching the real object, for Sarah, though only a little 
girl from a bare hillside farm and taught at the school be- 
low at Foxes Corners, had a keen eye for colour and loved 
beautiful things, so that ugliness or unkindness of any 
sort really hurt her if she could have explained her feel- 
ings. 
““My Gray Lady’s first name is Elizabeth, though, and 
she knows you and your molasses cakes,’’ continued Sarah, 
after a moment’s pause, “for she said, ‘When you go home 
say to your grandmother that Elizabeth who rode the black 
pony sends her love, and that she will go to see her soon, 
and that she hopes that she will give the little Elizabeth 
some of the cookies of which she has often heard.’ Eliza- 
beth is the little girl, but I’m going to call her Goldilocks, 
because the name matches her hair and she looks as if she 
was meant to — 
“*Sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam 
And feast upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.’ ” 
“Hlizabeth Wentworth and her daughter back here 
and I never knew it!’ cried Grandma Barnes, rising 
as if to take immediate action. ‘“ Your Aunt Jane might 
well say, as she did on her last visit, that this hill farm is 
as far out o’ the world as livin’ in a lighthouse that had no 
stairs or boat to it, and the only way to get anywhere was 
to take a dive and swim. But see here, Sarah Barnes, 
how did you come to meet the General’s folks? It’s near a 
mile from the road up from the Centre to their front gate; 
