1 6 Introductory 



What boy of you who reads these pages 

 ever warmed his cold feet on a frosty morn- 

 ing in the flattened down grass where the old 

 cow had slept the night before, keeping the 

 earth warm and inviting for blue, aching 

 toes? 



All the way of its many turns and twists, 

 this trail to the woods was fringed with weeds 

 and grasses, with flowers and bushes, many 

 of which were hung with delicious fruit. 



Just at the point where the lane led into 

 the pasture, a golden sweet apple tree stood. 

 Here I always stopped, not only to refresh 

 myself with a half dozen apples, but also to 

 shy apples at the red squirrels that were al- 

 ways scolding and frisking about in the 

 tree. 



Further out in the pasture the trail led 

 under a leaning apple tree. The tree was so 

 much inclined that I called it the leaning 

 tower. I could stand perfectly erect and 

 walk up the trunk of the tree without taking 

 hold with my hands the only tree on the 

 farm that admitted of such a stunt. Here, 



